Misunderstandings
by GrnEydDvl
Summary: Kurosaki Karin and Ichigo had a miscommunication and now the whole family's in Soul Society. Will one misunderstanding after another lead Karin and Hitsugaya Toushiro to exactly where they want to be? HitsuKarin IchiRuki YuzuHana
1. The Pole

**Hi everyone! Here is the fic I promised. See, I got it up really fast. Just to give credit where credit is due, ideas for this story came from Nefarious Seraph 13 (especially Karin's zanpakto), Lillix Vail, and Aris-5221 and kbookworm3 (who had the exact same idea). And of course, I have original ideas in here too, so it's like a great big HitsuKarin collaboration! Ok, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!**

**One important thing: I wrote this story with the assumption that all souls keep their memories. The anime is really vague about it, Urahara says they don't, but Chad's parrot boy says they do. So assume that everyone remembers what life was like when they were alive. It makes things much less confusing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I only own my own characters and ideas.**

Karin was going to kill him. Ok, technically she couldn't kill him. He was already dead. She was too for that matter. But she was still going to murder him.

"You IDIOT!" she screamed, punching him again and again. "You just _had_ to go and learn how to drive and you just _had_ to take Yuzu and me with you to show off your stupid skills! Now look where we are!"

"Hey!" Ichigo countered, trying to protect himself from her barrage of punches. "It's not _my_ fault that you said left when you meant right! It's your fault!" That was true, but it hardly mattered anymore.

"Who cares!" she barked, landing a well aimed right-hook. "You're still the one who crashed into the pole! And where the heck are we now?!"

"I know exactly where we are, so quit complaining." This statement shocked Karin so much, she paused, her arm frozen in midair hovering dangerously close to Ichigo's jaw.

"You do?" she asked incredulously.

"Of course I do!" Ichigo huffed, backing away from her before she could start assaulting him again. "I brought you here!" That was also true, but all he had done was stick out some sword and lead them through this weird door. Now they were standing on a hill top looking out over rows and rows of identical traditional Japanese style buildings.

"Ichi-nii, Karin-chan," Yuzu begged. "Please stop fighting!" She hated when her family shouted at each other.

"Well?" Karin said, glaring daggers at Ichigo and crossing her arms. "Are you going to tell us where we are or not?"

"We're in…" he started to say, but before he could finish, they were interrupted by the arrival of someone else.

"You IDIOT!" Rukia screamed, side-kicking Ichigo in the face. "What the heck did you do?! Oh, hello Karin, Yuzu, nice to see you!" The change in her facial expression and tone of voice from furious to friendly was slightly nerve-wracking.

"Uh, Rukia," Karin said, clearly confused. "What are you…?" but she was also interrupted.

"I can't believe you were taken out in a car crash! You moron," Renji said as he approached behind Rukia. He seemed thoroughly amused. "I mean, you survive ever scuffle in the Winter War, go home without a scratch and get killed by a pole! You're pathetic. Grimmjaw's having a nice laugh right about now."

"Shut up!" Ichigo said, flustered. "It's Karin's fault!"

"Is not!" she retorted. "And who are you?" she demanded, whipping around to face Renji. "What war?"

"How do you know it was a car crash?" Ichigo butted in. Karin jammed her foot down on his, payback for ignoring her. Renji howled with laughter as he watched Ichigo jump up and down, cursing.

"6th squad's been in charge of monitoring Karakura ever since Rukia got pulled off the job. Seems that Kuchki taicho wanted to keep a close eye on you."

"Huh?" Ichigo asked, pausing in his rabbit impression to be flabbergasted. "Why does Byakuya care?"

"Can't think of a single reason," Renji said, eyeing Rukia slyly, who blushed. Luckily, she was spared her embarrassment by the arrival of several more people.

"Ichigo!" Ikkaku said jovially. "How are you doing?"

"You died?!" Yumichka said haughtily. "And you brought your sisters with you. How ugly."

"Who's ugly?" Karin spat, but no one was paying any attention to her at this point.

"Anyway," Ikkaku continued, "we came to warn you. Zaraki taicho knows you're here and he's hankering for a fight. Of course, it'll take him a week to find you, but just be on your guard." Ichigo scoffed.

"Thanks for the warning."

"Ichigo!" cried another excited voice, and Matsumoto bounded up to the group, chest bouncing as she ran. "You've finally come to stay for good have you?"

"Oi, doesn't anybody care that I'm dead?" he asked annoyed. Matsumoto shrugged her shoulders.

"Not really. It doesn't matter either way does it?"

"Yes it does!" Ichigo snapped. Matsumoto giggled.

"Anyway," she continued, "taicho told me to tell you that Yamamoto soutaicho wants to speak with you as soon as possible." Ichigo groaned.

"So I'm in Soul Society for five minutes and I'm already a taicho. That's got to be a record."

At this point, Yuzu was scared out of her wits and Karin was fed up with being ignored.

"Please don't, Karin-chan," Yuzu begged knowing exactly what her twin wanted to do, but Karin ignored her.

"Oi!" she shouted as loudly as she could. Everyone present stopped their friendly banter to stare at her.

"So, these are your little sisters?" Renji asked curiously.

"They've got some pretty decent reiatsu," Ikkaku noticed, sizing them up. "Almost as strong as yours, Ichigo."

"How'd you get them here without a soul burial?" Yumichka asked, looking them over like they were rather interesting potted plants.

"I brought them through a senkai gate," Ichigo told him. "I thought it was safer that way. I don't trust that soul burial crap, you never know where you're going to end up."

"Will you stop analyzing us and tell us WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?" Karin bellowed at the top of her lungs. "Who are you people? How do you know Ichi-nii? WHERE ARE WE?!" There was stunned silence for a moment, then several people broke down laughing.

"Oi, Ichigo, you never told your sisters who you really are?" Ikkaku said in surprise.

"Karin knows, kind of," Ichigo mumbled.

"That doesn't look like 'kind of' to me," Renji commented. "More like, completely in the dark." Karin looked like she was about to explode, but Rukia took control over the situation.

"Karin, Yuzu," she said calmly, "this is Soul Society. It's the place you go after you die. We are shinigami. We protect souls." Karin had a thousand more questions, but Yuzu looked on the verge of tears so she refrained.

"Anyway," Ichigo broke in, "you two should head off to the Shinigami Academy. I've got to meet with the soutaicho."

"Wait," Karin said in surprise. "We're not staying together!? I don't think Yuzu can handle that." Yuzu responded by sniffling loudly. Ichigo looked at his sisters and sighed.

"Sorry, but now that we're here for real, I've got stuff I have to do."

"Oh, yeah right," Karin said sarcastically. "You never took responsibility for anything at home but you do here?"

"I _did_ take responsibility for stuff," Ichigo said uncomfortably. "The thing was…it was all shinigami stuff." Ichigo looked slightly embarrassed at his confession. Rukia punched him in face.

"Don't be so modest, dolt."

"And what's this 'Shinigami Academy' place?" Karin continued. "I'm dead! Why do I have to go to school?" Rukia looked at her sympathetically.

"You know Ichigo," she said, "they don't have to go straight to the Academy. They're still really young, they could live in Rukongai for a while…"

"No!" Ichigo stated soundly. "No sister of mine is living in that hell hole!"

"It's not all that bad," Rukia tried to reason. "The first couple of districts are…"

"Did any one of you come from a better district than 75?" he asked bitterly, scanning the crowd around him. No one responded. "Didn't think so. They're going to the Academy and that's final!"

"Why don't you ask them what they want?" Renji said, indicating the two girls, one furious, one petrified. "I think they can make that decision themselves."

"Before we make any decision," Karin said angrily, "I want a better explanation." Ichigo sighed.

"Sorry Karin, but I don't want to keep the soutaicho waiting. He's the scariest man alive if he's pissed at you and he'll have you executed without a second thought. I really don't want to start out my taicho career with that hanging over my head." Karin gaped at him.

"You really are different here, Ichi-nii," she said, impressed and slightly sad. "It's like…you've finally come home." Ichigo scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Yeah, I guess it is. Anyway, why don't you guys go with Rukia for now, and I'll come get you later…"

"Sorry Ichigo," Rukia apologized, "but I'm actually busy right now. I have to run some errands for Ukitake taicho and I'm already running late because you had to go and get yourself killed."

"I'll take them!" Matsumoto said cheerily. "It'll be a great excuse to avoid some paperwork!"

"What, do we need a babysitter?" Karin asked cynically, but she was internally grateful. She still had no idea where they were and she wasn't really in the mood to get lost in what looked like an impossible maze of identical buildings.

"Thanks Rangiku-san!" Ichigo said appreciatively. "I'll be back to get them as soon as I can. In the mean time, why don't you fill them in? I think Karin will have a couple heads if she doesn't get some answers soon." Karin almost took a head at that comment, but Ichigo and his posy were already heading down the hill.

"Come on girls, let's go!" Matsumoto said cheerily. "I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, 10th squad fukutaicho. We've met before, haven't we?" It was then that Karin remembered.

"Toushiro!" she said excitedly. "You're Toushiro's...um…" Matsumoto smiled.

"Fukutaicho," she finished the sentence for Karin.

"Yeah, that's it, fukutaicho!" She looked up at Matsumoto expectantly, hoping to finally get some answers. "So, what's a fukutaicho?"

"I'll explain everything when we get to the office," she said, leading them towards 10th squad. "It's more comfortable there. And I'm sure taicho will be glad to see you."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

As it turned out, Hitsugaya wasn't in the office when they arrived.

"Must be at a captains meeting," Matsumoto guessed. "To induct Ichigo as a taicho. Anyway, what do you want to know about Soul Society?"

"Everything," Karin replied. The three of them sat on the couch for the next hour while Matsumoto gave them the run down.

"And Ichi-nii knew all this and didn't tell me?" Karin asked, slightly affronted. "I hate him." Matsumoto laughed.

The door slid open to reveal a rather disgruntled Hitsugaya.

"Two Kurosakis!" he mumbled to himself. "One was bad enough, but _two_!"

"What do you mean two, taicho?" Matsumoto asked cheerily. Hitsugaya scowled.

"Kurosaki Isshin! He barged in in the middle of the captains meeting, demanding his old spot at 3rd squad taicho back. Something about all his family being dead so there was no point in him staying in the living world any longer."

"Oyaji!" Karin cried. "Him too?!" Yuzu gasped in surprise.

"And the soutaicho _gave_ him the position!?" Matsumoto asked, startled. She didn't even seem to have heard Karin's outburst. Hitsugaya sighed.

"If the situation had been different, he probably wouldn't have, but we're in desperate need of taichos at the moment. Hello Kurosaki," he said blandly, turning to Karin for the first time. "I didn't expect to see you in Soul Society for quite a while. I guess you have that idiot of a brother of yours to thank right?" Karin shrugged.

"Whatever, my whole family's here, so I don't really mind. Oyaji's a taicho too?"

"Yeah," Hitsugaya said with a frown. "They're waiting for you two outside." Yuzu scrambled out of the room as fast as she could, but Karin held back for a moment.

"Hey, Toushrio, you up for a game sometime?" Hitsugaya gave her a patented icy glare.

"Kurosaki," he said seriously, "you're in Soul Society now, so you have to address me properly. It's Hitsugaya taicho and don't you forget it. And taichos do not have time to play soccer with Academy students. Now go, your family's waiting." Karin stared at Hitsugaya for a moment. She wasn't the least bit intimidated by his words. In fact, she found them highly amusing. She had seen his softer side, if only briefly while he stared at the sky, lost in memories, but it had been there. She would crack his shell no matter what it took.

"Yeah, whatever Toushiro!" she said cheerfully. "See ya!"

Matsumoto at least gave her taicho the decency of waiting until Karin was out of the office before breaking down in hysterics.

"Oh taicho," she chuckled, "that girl is going to be the new bane of your existence!" Hitsugaya scowled, knowing that Matsumoto was right. But for some reason, that thought didn't bother him as much as it should have.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Karin ran out of the squad house and into her father's open arms. Well, actually, it was her foot that barreled into his chest, but with the Kurosakis that amounted to much the same thing.

"You're as bad as Ichi-nii!" she shouted furiously. "You were a shinigami and didn't even tell us!" Isshin laughed heartily.

"Karin, you wouldn't have believed me if I did tell you, so what was the point?" Karin crossed her arms in a huff. "Anyway, we're all here now, so does it really matter?"

"Yes it does!" Karin insisted, but no one was really listening anymore.

"Onii-chan, you look so regal in that haori!" Yuzu gushed, admiring Ichigo's new captain's cloak.

"You like it?" Ichigo asked, trying and failing to hide the pride in his voice. "You're looking at the new 9th squad taicho!"

"Why 9th?" Yuzu asked. "Why not 5th?"

"Well," Ichigo replied, "the 9th squad fukutaicho was killed taking out particularly nasty Espada a couple months ago, so that squad was in most need of leadership. And speaking of leadership, I've got to go find Rukia. I want her to be my fukutaicho."

"That's cute," Karin said sarcastically. Yuzu giggled, and Ichigo blushed slightly.

"Whatever. See you around!" he said as he ran off. Karin shook her head in disbelief. Ichigo really did seem like he belonged here.

"And as for you two," Isshin said to his daughters, "I agree with Ichigo. It's off to the Academy for you. And don't complain," he preempted as Karin opened her mouth to protest. "It's better than rotting in Rukongai. Besides," he said, a slight gleam in his eye, "it's not like school was before. I think you'll really enjoy it."

**Sorry for all you Hisagi fans out there, but I really wanted to make Rukia Ichigo's fukutaicho, and this was the best way to do it.**

**And I know this chapter was kind of pathetic, but I couldn't really think of another way to set the stage, and I thought everyone crowding around Ichigo would be amusing. Anyway, I promise the story gets a lot better from here on out.**

**Oh also, I apologize again for the weird spaces in my story, it's where there are page breaks in my word document. If anyone knows how to get rid of them, I would love the advice. Thanks.**


	2. Awakening a Zanpakto

**Sorry about the last chapter, I know it was boring. Trust me, this one is a lot more exciting.**

_Six years later_

"What's wrong?" Ikkaku said gleefully as his zanpakto clashed against Karin's blade. "You're slacking Karin!" Karin smirked.

"Quit talking smack Ikkaku!" She charged straight towards him, then changed directions mid-thrust, forcing Ikkaku to block earlier than he was expecting to and losing his balance in the process. Karin swung her sword down, bringing it to an abrupt halt a mere inch from Ikkaku's nose.

"I win again!" she said triumphantly. "Why don't you just admit that I'm stronger than you!?" Ikkaku smiled.

"Because that would mean admitting that I get my butt whooped by a little girl everyday and I'm not willing to do that…ow!" he cried as Karin smacked him on the top of his head with the flat of her blade.

"Who are you calling little, baldy?" she taunted. A tick mark appeared on Ikkaku's forehead.

"Oh, that's it, you'll pay for that shrimp!" And with that he attacked her again. It took Karin a grand total of forty two seconds to pin him to the ground with her sword at his throat.

"Damn," she said shaking her head and grinning broadly. "Just short of my record." Sparring with Ikkaku had become just one of the many things Karin loved about life in Soul Society. Her father had been right, she did enjoy school. What could be better than fighting every day? And, with her father and brother as taichos, she had easy access to places in Seireitei few other students would even dream of (or want for that matter,) like the 11th squad dojo, the 9rd squad barracks, and the 10th squad office, all of which were places where Karin spent tremendous amounts of time.

"You know Ikkau," Karin said with an exaggerated sigh, "if I want to awaken my zanpakto before graduation, I'm going to need a more challenging sparring partner."

"I'm not challenging enough?" Ikkaku asked, a scary glint in his eye. Karin laughed.

"When was the last time you beat me? Three years ago? Or was it four, I can't quite remember." Ikkaku scoffed and Karin laughed again. She made a big joke out of the whole thing, but really, Karin was aching inside. She had yet to learn the name of her zanpakto and turn the useless lump of steel in her hands into a personalized fighting partner endowed with her reiatsu. Yuzu had had hers for a year now, as did many of her classmates. In fact, Karin was now the only one in her year without a zanpakto, a source of tremendous shame. Of course, no one in their right minds would tease her about it; even if she hadn't had a very intimidating brother and father and even more 

intimidating shinigami friends, Karin was quite scary enough as it was, zanpakto or no. But that didn't mean that Karin wasn't aware of nervous whispers about her that floated out of the shadows. Awakening one's zanpakto was a requirement for graduation, and with the big day less than a month away, Karin was more anxious than ever.

"One more time," Karin said with conviction, and Ikkaku was more than willing to comply. Their swords clashed, and once again, it took Karin less than a minute to have Ikkaku pressed up against the wall, her sword pointed right at his heart.

"You're getting soft Madarame," said a voice from the doorway.

"Toushiro!" Karin said brightly as Ikkaku scoffed at the insult.

"That's Hitsugaya taicho," Hitsugaya said with a small smirk, but Karin knew him way too well at this point to care.

"What are you doing here?" she asked jovially, sheathing her sword and coming over to him. Hitsugaya suddenly looked slightly awkward. Whatever he wanted, it was clear that he didn't want to say it in front of Ikkaku.

"Kurosaki, come with me for a minute, will you?" he asked. Karin waved goodbye to Ikkaku and followed him out.

"Toushiro, when are you going to start calling me Karin?" she asked with a sigh. "Everybody else does." Hitsugaya grunted, but didn't reply. He looked at the training sword slug over her back. Like him, she was too short to wear it at her side.

"Still having trouble with your zanpakto?" he asked not unkindly. Karin sighed.

"She just doesn't seem to want to appear. I've tried everything. It's ridiculous, I'm the best sparer in the year but I can't seem to hear my own zanpakto. I've had so much extra time to practice kido while everyone else works on controlling their shikai that I'm the best in the year at that too. I just don't understand." She kicked the ground in frustration.

"Want me to train with you?" Hitsugaya offered, a slight flush appearing in his cheeks. Karin stared at him, then broke down laughing.

"_That's_ what you wanted?" she choked. "And you couldn't say _that_ in front of Ikkaku?! You're so unsubtle Toushiro." Hitsugaya's blush deepened.

"Oi!" he said slightly annoyed. "A taicho just offered to train with you and you're laughing. Do you know how many people would kill for this opportunity?" Karin forced herself to calm down.

"Ok, ok, don't get all bent out of shape! Honestly, you need to loosen up a little Toushiro." Hitsugaya scoffed.

"Matsumoto is loose enough for both of us. And it's Hitsugaya taicho." Karin grinned.

"Whatever Toushiro." They had reached the 10th squad dojo. Hitsugaya and Karin stood across from each other and drew their swords.

"I'm not holding back," Hitsugaya told her. "Let's see how good you've really become." Karin nodded and they ran towards each other. The sound of steel on steel reverberated through the dojo. The fight lasted much longer than the ones with Ikkaku had. Karin held her own for most of it, but Hitsugaya was a taicho and had much more fighting experience. He swung around with a reverse step move Karin had never seen and before she realized what had happened, he had his sword at her throat.

"Wow!" she marveled, forgetting for the moment that she had just lost. "Can you teach me that move?" Hitsugaya pulled his sword back.

"Eventually," he said absentmindedly. He was thinking about their battle. He knew exactly why Karin was having so much trouble awakening her zanpakto.

"Kurosaki," he began, "have you ever been pushed to your limit?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, sure you've lost sparring matches before, you just lost this one, but have you ever really been overwhelmed by your opponent? To the point where you felt entirely unable to respond to their attacks?" Karin considered this. In all honesty, she hadn't. Ikkaku, even when he used to beat her on a more regular basis, had never presented that much of a challenge. And she had never once lost a sparring match at school, which was the reason she had sought Ikkaku out in the first place. And her father and brother refused to spar with her, they were too afraid of injuring her, something that infuriated her to no end. So no, she had never really been challenged.

"I guess not," she replied. Hitsugaya smirked; it would have been a smile on anyone else's face, but Hitsugaya still couldn't bring himself to do that.

"I thought not," he said. "That's why you can't hear your zanpakto. She will first appear to you when she is needed. So far, your skill level is high enough that you've been able to fight all of your battles with a simple training sword. You haven't needed a shikai. Think of it like Zaraki. He can't awaken his zanpakto because he's never met an opponent who presented enough of a challenge. Your lack of a zanpakto isn't a sign of weakness Kurosaki; it's a sign of strength." Relief, waves of sweet relief washed over Karin at his words. She wasn't weak! Well, she had known that, but still, not having a zanpakto was making her second guess herself. And Hitsugaya had just compared her to Zaraki Kenpachi! Karin felt a little glow of pride.

"So, what are you going to do?" she asked, knowing that their training wasn't over. "Are you going to use shikai and push me to my limit?" Hitsugaya shook his head.

"Unfortunately," he said with another smirk-that-should-be-a-smile, "I don't think my shikai will be enough of a challenge for you." Karin's eyes opened wide in surprise as she processed what he just said.

"Wait, you don't mean…" but Hitsugaya answered her question before she could finish.

"Bankai!" he shouted, and enormous ice wings appeared on his back, accompanied by sharp claws on his hands and feet. Karin took a second to marvel at the majestic power of his bankai-because a second was all she had.

"Ahhhh" he roared, flying directly towards her. She blocked his attack with all the strength she could muster, but she could hear the metal of her blade creak under the pressure. Hitsugaya pulled back, then swung again with even more force. Karin, not to be outdone, raced him to the next clash, but his speed had increased with his bankai and he beat her too it, landing a hit that sent her hurtling into the wall. She leapt to her feet immediately, but before she could even move, Hitsugaya hit her again, and this time, she went right through the wall leaving a gaping hole. Karin scrambled to her feet, meaning to return to the dojo, but had to jump high into the air as a white lighting kido shot directly at her. She crashed through the ceiling and wasn't even on her feet yet before Hitsugaya's long tail swept towards her, sending her sprawling into the corner. She tried to stand, but she was aching. She was bruised all over and she thought her wrist might be broken. Hitsugaya descended on her again, but she didn't have the strength to move. She saw him getting closer and closer and held up her sword in a final desperate attempt to block him…

And then it was quiet. And dark. The pain was gone. Karin looked at her surroundings, trying to get her bearings. She was standing on a hill looking out at a prairie that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The landscape was dotted with similar hills to the one she was standing on. The grass around her was so tall, it almost reached her waist. It was yellowing and dry, like it was in desperate need of water. The sky was cloudless, but there were no stars. It seemed like it was early twilight.

"This is my mind?" Karin said aloud, slightly disappointed. "How depressing."

"It's not always depressing," said a voice behind her. "The sunset is quite beautiful most of the time. Sometimes, there are even stars." Karin whipped around to face the speaker. She (Karin assumed it was a she, although she couldn't be quite sure) was wearing a long black cloak that draped past her arms and legs and trailed behind her, blowing constantly in a breeze that Karin couldn't feel. A thick hood covered her head, masking her face, and Karin wondered for a moment if she even had a face or if she was just an eerie black cloak floating in midair.

"So you're my zanpakto," Karin said. "You're not exactly what I was excepting."

"Oh," said her zanpakto in an amused voice. "What were you expecting?"

"I don't really know," Karin said with a shrug. "Ichi-nii said his zanpakto is a man, and Toushiro's must be a dragon…"

"My form is what you made me," her zanpakto replied. "I am a manifestation of your power." Karin made a face.

"So I'm the grim reaper?" she said, slightly disgusted with herself. Her zanpakto chuckled.

"Only if that's what you choose to call yourself. But that's not what you should call me." Karin gasped and looked at her zanpakto expectantly. This was the moment she had been waiting for, hoping for, praying for, ever since Yuzu ran into her room just over a year ago shouting "Sukoyakausagi! Sukoyakausagi! I know my zanpakto's name!", or maybe even before that.

"Repeat after me," her zanpakto said, and Karin took a deep breath.

"Electrify, Kuroishikyo!" Karin yelled the last part aloud, and suddenly, she was no longer on the hilltop in the dark prairie, but back in the dojo with Hitsugaya descending on her. Her pain was back, but so was her strength. She jumped to her feet and realized that she was no longer holding a training sword in her hand. It was a scythe. It had a sleek black handle made of some material Karin could tell was stronger than diamonds. It was almost as tall as she was and had a razor sharp curved blade at the end. But Karin knew instinctively that the blade wasn't for cutting. Through the holes she and Hitsugaya had created in the dojo wall, she could see the bright day suddenly darken. The wind picked up as storm clouds gathered directly overhead. Karin raised her scythe into the air and shouted,

"Death by lightning!" and a bolt of lightning shot through the ceiling, creating yet another hole in the dojo. It gathered around the blade of the scythe, collecting in a swirling mass of light so bright no one but Karin could stare directly at it. The light hissed, sputtered, and sparkled like a firecracker and Karin redirected it towards Hitsugaya, who dodged at the last second as the wall behind him exploded with the power of the attack. Karin stared at the wall (or lack thereof) in triumph.

"I did it!" she said wearily before exhaustion overwhelmed her and she collapsed unconscious on the floor.

**Note: Karin's zanpakto, Kuroishikyo means "black death," and Yuzu's zanpakto, Sukoyausagi means "healthy rabbit." Yes, I'm lame I know, get over it.**

**And no, Karin isn't dead**


	3. A Taicho's Bankai

**Sorry for the late post, it's been a really long couple of days. I should be back on track with my regular posting schedule now (which is usually daily for those of you that don't know.)**

Karin opened her eyes. She felt a something warm on her wrist and turned to see the blue glow of a healing kido. Hitsugaya was sitting beside her, controlling the kido, a look of stern concentration on his face.

"You know healing kido?" she asked, and he jumped slightly.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I startle you?" she asked incredulously. Hitsugaya scowled.

"I didn't realize you were awake," he said gruffly. "And, no, I don't know a lot of healing kido, just some first aid. I can cure minor cuts and sprains, but that's about it." They sat in silence for a few minutes as he finished healing her wrist. Eventually, Karin felt the warmth die down and she flicked her wrist a few times to make sure it was fully functional again. It was.

"I'm sorry I attacked you so aggressively," Hitsugaya mumbled, pointedly avoiding her eyes. "I knew you could handle it, and being pushed to your limit is really the only way…" he trailed off.

"That's ok," Karin said with a grin, amused by his uncharacteristic embarrassment. "I'm really grateful. No one else would fight me like that, and now I have a zanpakto…oh!" she remembered, and bolted upright, searching for her sword. She wanted to see it.

"Here," Hitsugaya handed it to her. "I was looking at it before you woke up. It's…beautiful." Karin wanted to tease him for being soft, softer than she had ever seen him before, but she decided to just savor it instead. She examined her new zanpakto. Hitsugaya was right; it _was_ beautiful, or as beautiful as a deadly weapon can ever get. The handle was as black as midnight and so glossy Karin could almost see her reflection in it. The cord wrapping around it was also jet black. The guard was round and silver colored, with cutouts of alternating lightning bolts and sickles dancing around the edge. The sheath over her shoulder had also changed. Instead of the Academy issued red strap she had been using, the new one was black and decorated with the same pattern as her hilt guard.Kuroishikyo, her very own zanpakto. Karin beamed with pride.

She looked up to see Hitsugaya staring at her with a strangely gentle look in his eyes.

"Thanks Toushiro," she said appreciatively. And then she hugged him. Now, Kurosaki Karin was not one to hug people. And Hitsugaya Toushiro was not one to hug back. But they were warriors. And to warriors, the bombed out dojo and appearance of a magnificent new sword in their midst was about as romantic a setting as they could imagine.

Karin pulled back, slightly startled at what had just occurred. They sat in awkward silence for several moments. Finally, Hitsugaya said,

"Maybe you should go show your zanpakto to your family. I'm sure they'll want to see it." Karin nodded her agreement and stood to leave. She paused briefly at the door, trying to think of something to say, but changed her mind, deciding that any more words might shatter the very precarious moment.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hitsugaya walked back to the office in somewhat of a daze. He was feeling so many emotions that he wasn't accustomed to feeling that it was taking a lot of energy to process them. He had never meant to fight Karin the way he just did, but he knew how badly she wanted a zankapto and that everyone else was either unwilling or unable to fight her to the edge of her abilities. She was incredibly strong, much stronger than most people are at graduation. He wouldn't be surprised if she landed a 3rd seat position immediately. Heck, he would gladly take her.

And then there was that unusual feeling he had had after she fainted. He had been expecting that of course, everyone faints after they awaken their zanpakto for the first time, so he hadn't been worried. She had looked so helpless and vulnerable lying there, more vulnerable than he had ever seen her. She wasn't one to show weakness to anybody, if she even had weaknesses to show. For some reason, as he healed her wounds and examined her exquisite zanpakto, he had felt a rush of pride and affection for her that was entirely unexpected. He had tried to ignore those feelings, but then she had _hugged_ him. She had never done that before. It had felt strange to be in her arms, but also somewhat pleasant and comfortable.

He shook his head, trying to clear himself of these thoughts. They were unnecessary and ridiculous. Having reached his office, he sat at his desk and started writing a work request to have the dojo mended; it was in serious need of repairs.

A little while later, Hitsugaya heard loud footsteps in the hallway and Matsumoto nearly broke the door down in her effort to get inside.

"Taicho!" she said in a slightly alarmed voice. "Someone's vandalized the dojo!"

"It's called training Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said nonchalantly, not taking his eyes off the form he was filling out. "Some of us do it sometimes."

"Wait," said Matsumoto, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying. "Training?! Taicho, there are holes in the ceiling! And the walls! Well, what's left of them, one of the walls isn't even there anymore. It looks like you were using bankai at the very least…" she trailed off as she saw him smirk slightly.

"Taicho," she said with wonder, "who on earth were you fighting that you brought out your bankai?"

"Kurosaki," Hitsugaya said casually, grabbing another paper off the stack on his desk. Matsumoto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, well if it was Ichigo, then that explains it. But why the heck would you fight him inside, you know he's not one to limited by physical barriers?" Hitsugaya smirked again.

"Matsumoto," he said, slightly amused at the way he was toying unwittingly with his fukutaicho. "Who said I was sparring with Ichigo?"

"Isshin taicho then?" she asked.

"Karin," Hitsugaya replied. "I was helping her awaken her zanpakto." Hitsugaya looked up at Matsumoto for the first time in this conversation, and was very glad that he did so. The look on her face was priceless.

"Karin-chan?!" she squealed with fright. "Why in the world would you use bankai on Karin-chan?!"

"Because shikai wasn't strong enough." Matsumoto's face went from petrified to stunned.

"She needed a taicho's bankai to draw out her zanpakto," Matsumoto marveled. "The only other person in the history of Soul Society to need that was…"

"Me," Hitsugaya finished her sentence. "I know." There was silence as both of them processed the profoundness of that statement.

"Do you think she's taicho material?" Matsumoto asked, still in awe of Karin's accomplishment. Hitsugaya leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"She definitely could be. It's in her blood after all, and she's already really strong. I wouldn't be surprised if she has bankai in less than a year. That's how long it took me and she's as strong as I was at graduation. Maybe stronger." Matsumoto chuckled.

"She certainly beats Ikkaku to a pulp every day," she said, smiling at memories of watching one of the most macho men in Soul Society being brought to his knees by the fierce little girl. "You should train with her more often taicho."

"I would if I had time," he admitted. "She'll never get any better fighting opponents that don't challenge her."

"You care about her don't you?" Matsumoto teased, a gleam in her eye. Hitsugaya scoffed, but he blushed ever so slightly.

"She's my friend," he said uncomfortably.

"Do you call her Karin yet?" Matsumoto pried. Hitsugaya didn't respond. "Well?"

"Why should I?" he demanded, clearly getting flustered by this conversation. "Now do some work or get out, I've had a rough day." Matsumoto smiled knowingly 

before leaving the room, taking full advantage of her taicho's offer to "get out." Hitsugaya sighed and stood up to gaze out the window. He stared at the clouds floating lazily in the sky.

"Karin," he muttered wistfully under in breath.

**Sorry Hitsugaya is a little OOC in this chapter. He kind of stays that way, but I think what I'm trying to get at is that he doesn't really know how to act around Karin because he's got a crush on her (or maybe more) so it makes him act a little awkward around her.**


	4. Squad Placement

**Thank you all for making me feel better about Hitsugaya's OOCness. I think it was necessary to the story and I'm glad you guys thought it was ok. He does it a little in this chapter too, but it's the same deal as last time. Ok, I hope you like this chapter, it was really fun to write. And I finally figured out how to get rid of those annoying spaces! Yay!  
**

"4th squad?!" Karin roared in fury.

"Karin…" Ichigo said defensively.

"_4__th__ squad_!?"

"Karin please," Isshin pleaded.

"4TH SQUAD!! I'm the top of my class with a sword by a wide margin and I beat the crap out of a 3rd seat every day. My zanpakto means 'black death' for crying out loud! Does that sound like the zanpakto of a healer?!" They were in Isshin's office in 3rd squad celebrating Karin and Yuzu's graduation from the Shinigami Academy. But it was turning into much more of a shouting match than a party.

"I mean, come on!" she continued. "I have a father, a brother, and a best friend who are all taichos, you have all the power in the world to influence this decision and I end up in _4__th__ squad_!"

"Taichos don't make these decisions Karin," Isshin tried desperately to explain. "Your teachers do. And Yuzu requested 4th squad, so I think they just saw Kurosaki on the request list and…well, mixed you up." Karin shot him a look of pure poison.

"But Yuzu's in 4th squad too. They didn't _accidentally_ put her in 11th squad now did they?"

"You requested 11th squad?" Hitsugaya asked, and everyone could hear the slight tinge of hurt in his voice. The room fell awkwardly silent at the icy taicho's minute display of emotion. The glass of sake Matsumoto had been in the middle of pouring for Kira was overflowing, but neither of them noticed. Renji nudged Ichigo, who scoffed. Rukia elbowed them both in the stomach.

"Of course she did!" Ikkaku said jovially, completely oblivious to the tension in the room. "11th squad's the best! We get the coolest fights."

"But Ikkaku," Matsumoto chimed in, actively trying to turn attention away from her taicho for his sake. "I'm not so sure you want Karin-chan in your squad! You know she's stronger than you. Aren't you worried she'll take your seat?" Ikkaku turned red.

"No one's taking my seat! Karin, outside, right now, we're duking it out!"

"Clearly you weren't listening," Yumichka said with a flamboyant wave of his hand. "Karin's in 4th squad, so your seat is safe."

"Oh," said Ikkaku, scratching his head in confusion. "Whatever, Karin, where are you? We can fight anyway! Karin?" But she was nowhere to be found. Neither, for that matter, was Hitsugaya.

"Aaaw, do I sense a little romance going on between the short ones?" Yumichka cooed. Both Renji and Rukia had to grab Ichigo's haori to keep him from pouncing on Yumichka.

"Watch what you say about my sister!" he growled.

"Oi, Ichigo," Rukia said in a strained voice, "let it go!" On cue, both she and Renji released him and he barreled head first into the opposite wall.

"Onii-chan!" Yuzu cried, running to her brother's side, while everyone else laughed hysterically.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hitsugaya didn't know why he felt this way. He hadn't really thought too hard about what squad Karin would want to be in. He couldn't really expect anything from her. And besides, she was in 4th squad anyway, so it didn't really matter. But he was still hurt, and it bothered him that he was hurt.

"Toushiro!" she called from behind, racing to catch up with him. He ignored her, registered how childish it was that he was ignoring her, hated himself for doing it, and did it anyway. Not that it mattered.

"Toushiro," she panted, finally catching up to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he lied. At least, nothing _should _be wrong. Karin punched him in the arm. Hard. He stopped walking and stared at her.

"What?" he asked angrily.

"Don't lie to me!" Karin spat. "What's wrong with me wanting to be in 11th squad?"

"Nothing," he said truthfully. "I mean it," he responded to the incredulous look on her face. "It's a battle unit. You're made for battle. It's the perfect squad for you. I just…" he trailed off, not knowing exactly how to finish that sentence.

"You're _jealous_!" Karin said, realization dawning on her. She grinned broadly. "Wow Toushiro, I didn't know you had it in you." Hitsugaya frowned.

"I'm not jealous!" he insisted, but he was and he knew it.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore does it," Karin said with a sigh. "I'm in _4__th__ squad_." She said the last few words as sourly as she could.

"4th squad's not all that bad," Hitsugaya said, eagerly grasping at the change of topic.

"No, it's not," she agreed. "They are vital to Soul Society. I have a lot of respect for them. And it's a great squad for people like Yuzu. But you said it yourself; I'm made for battle. I'm the one that's supposed to need healing, not the other way around." She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" she asked hopefully. "You're a taicho, there must be some way for you to get me out of this! Really, I'll take any squad at this point. Except maybe 1st. Yamamoto soutaicho scares the living daylights out of me!" Hitsugaya relaxed a bit. Karin had at least appeared to have forgotten his sudden embarrassing outburst.

"I'll try," he promised.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Back in the 9th squad office, Ichigo and Rukia were discussing Karin's squad placement.

"I can't believe they made a mistake like that!" Rukia said angrily. "Karin's 3rd seat material, maybe even fukutaicho! How could they stick her in 4th squad? She'll hate it there!" Ichigo didn't respond.

"Oi, Ichigo!" Rukia said annoyed. "I'm talking to you!"

"I'm actually glad she's there," he said in an uncharacteristically serious voice. "She'll be out of danger."

"What!?" Rukia shouted, livid. "You're the one who was so dead set on her becoming a shinigami in the first place!" She frowned as a thought hit her.

"You didn't have anything to do with this…did you?" she accused, giving him a death stare.

"Of course not!" he spat. "I know how much she wants to fight. I wouldn't intentionally ruin her future!"

"You're ruining ours," Rukia said darkly. Ichigo scowled.

"Damn it Rukia," he cursed in aggravation, "why do you have to drag that into every single conversation?!"

"Because it's important!" she said pointedly. "Why can't you just suck up your pride and marry me already?!" Ichigo frowned.

"It's not about pride," he said in exasperation. "I've explained this before. I just don't think a taicho and a fukutaicho should…"

"Should what, Ichigo?" Rukia demanded. "Love each other?" Ichigo checked at the word love, but didn't say anything. "And since when you care about things like that? It's just an excuse and you know it! I won't stay your secret forever Ichigo," Rukia said seriously. "Sooner or later, people are going to find out about us, Renji already knows and if you're so blind as to think that the rest of the squad isn't gossiping about us behind our backs, than you're not a very good taicho. I hate hiding in the shadows, pretending that what we're doing is wrong. You're the one who's wrong Ichigo."

"But you're my fukutaicho…" Ichigo protested desperately, but Rukia cut him off.

"I don't have to be!" she reminded him angrily. "I can quit if I want to! I'm sure Karin would love to take my place."

"No way!" Ichigo retorted. "Two Kurosakis!? I don't think the squad could handle that, it's hard enough for them to put up with me!" Rukia grinned despite herself.

"Anyway, you're not allowed to quit, Rukia," Ichigo teased. "That's an order from your taicho." Rukia tried and failed to hide her smile, then gave up and jumped into his arms.

"Why do I put up with you?" she asked, trailing her fingers across his jaw.

"I ask myself that every day," he replied happily.

**A little IchiRuki for you all. I've always hinted at it, but I've never actually tried to do it. They definitely won't be the dominant couple, but their story will get weaved in here somehow.**


	5. Hanataro

**Just a little foreshadowing, this chapter is a lot more important than it may appear to be on the surface. Just keep that in mind.**

The next day, Yuzu led a rather disgruntled Karin to 4th squad for orientation. Karin was still peeved, but Yuzu was really excited about being in 4th squad, so Karin tried to swallow her feelings and be happy. She wasn't doing a great job, but she was putting up a valiant effort.

"Ah, the Kurosaki sisters!" Unohana said warmly when they entered the squad house. "It's such an honor to have you two in our squad!"

"It's an honor to be here, Unohana taicho," Yuzu said breathlessly. Being in 4th squad had been Yuzu's dream ever since she started at the Academy. In a different situation, Karin would have been thrilled for her, but her own frustration at the mix-up in squad placement was taking precedent. Still, she managed a smile and an "It's an honor to be here," for Unohana taicho, who led them up to a very shy looking boy. He was slightly taller than they were and in desperate need of a haircut.

"It…it's an honor to be working with you, Kurosaki-samas." he said humbly, bowing deeply. "My name is Yamada Hanataro. I will be your sempai." Yuzu giggled. Karin wanted desperately to punch him, but then remembered that this was 4th squad and violence probably wasn't tolerated. Damn.

"Oi, Hanataro," she said icily, "drop the sama crap. Where'd that come from anyway?" Hanataro looked at her with wide eyes.

"But, you're the daughters of Kurosaki Isshin taicho and the sisters of Kurosaki Ichigo taicho…" This time, Karin really did hit him.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his head.

"Don't bring our family into this!" she insisted. "I'm Karin and this is my sister Yuzu. We're not royalty."

"I'm pleased to be working with you!" Yuzu said cheerily, adding a small bow. Hanataro shifted uncomfortably.

"I hope I can teach you something useful, Kurosaki-san!" he replied eagerly, returning her bow. Karin rolled her eyes. She knew this was going to require a lot more patience than she was capable of.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

"Oi, Hanataro, get in here!" Karin ordered. "I need your help!" Ok, so technically, Hanataro was her superior, but the lines were rather blurred where Karin was concerned. Hanataro had spent the last several months teaching Karin and Yuzu everything he knew about healing kido. It was much more complicated than Karin could have imagined, but she had been the best in her year at kido, so she picked it up rather quickly. The lack of fighting from her daily schedule bothered her a lot, but at least healing was turning out to be a lot more mentally stimulating than she thought it would be.

At the moment, Karin was trying desperately to tie the man in front of her to his bed. Most people who were as injured as he was would be unconscious, but this time there was no such luck. Karin had yet to learn the kido to put people instantly to sleep, and she couldn't very well heal him while he was trashing about.

"Hanataro!" she screamed again. "Where the heck are you!?"

"I'm here!" cried a rather flustered Hanataro as he skidded into the room. "What do you need…?" But he answered his own question when he saw the man howl in pain and take a swipe at Karin, who dodged with ease and pinned his arm to the bed. Kentaro rushed to the man's side, whispered a few well chosen words, and the man was suddenly unconscious, blood and drool oozing out of his mouth.

"Thanks," Karin said appreciatively. "You've got to teach me that one!" Karin set about healing the man's wounds while Hanataro went to go get clean cloths and bandages.

"Karin-chan, Hanataro-kun, is everything alright?" Yuzu asked sweetly, coming into the room. Hanataro promptly tripped over his feet, crashing to the floor and sending his armful of bandages flying.

"Oh, Hanataro-kun, are you alright?" Yuzu said with concern, rushing over to him and grabbing his arm to help him up. Hanataro turned bright red at her touch.

"I'm…I'm fine…Kurosaki-san…I…just tripped, you don't have to fuss over me…" he stuttered pathetically. Yuzu blushed. Karin suppressed a laugh. Hanataro had a hopelessly enormous crush on Yuzu. As far as Karin knew, his affections were returned, but neither of them seemed to have the guts to do anything about it.

"Hanataro," Karin said, trying to break into their moment; it was way too painful for her to watch their awkwardness. "When are you going to drop that Kurosaki-san stuff and call us by our names? It's really confusing you know!" But Hanataro didn't seem to be listening. He was too busy having his hand examined by Yuzu, since he had scraped it against the floor when he fell.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

An hour later, the flailing man was recovering and Yuzu had gone for the day. Karin was just finishing washing the blood off her hands (the one good thing about 4th squad was that there was plenty of blood,) when Hanataro came up to her. He looked extremely nervous, much more nervous than usual, and was grasping a piece of paper in his hands.

"What's up?" Karin asked.

"Ano, can…can you please give this to Kurosaki-san?" he begged hopefully. Karin rolled her eyes.

"You're going to have to be more specific than that. There are four of us you know." Hanataro gulped. He seemed to be having difficulty getting the words out.

"Yuzu-san," he said finally, rushing through the words as though they would bite him. "Please give this to Yuzu-san!" Karin smiled broadly. Finally, the shy man was making a move!

"Sure!" she agreed, taking the letter from him and putting it in her pocket. "I'll give it to her later, she has plans with Academy friends this evening."

"Oh, ok, thank you so much, Kurosaki-san!" he said breathlessly, and Karin didn't have the heart to correct him. Just giving her the letter and saying Yuzu's name was clearly more strain than he could handle.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Since Karin had nothing in particular to do that afternoon, she decided to swing by 10th squad and spend some time with Hitsugaya. She barged right into the office (she had long ago given up knocking) and said, with an air of mock surprise,

"You're working?! How unusual!" She strolled over to his desk, shifted a mountain of papers over to clear a space, and plopped herself on the desktop. Hitsugaya looked up at her.

"What do you want Kurosaki?" he asked in a strained voice. Oh, it was one of _those_ days. One of those days when Matsumoto didn't show up at all which meant that, in addition to doing 100 percent of the paperwork rather than 90 percent, he even had to make his own tea. The size of the stacks on his desks and his empty tea cup confirmed her theory.

"You know Toushiro," she teased, "maybe you should consider getting yourself a new fukutaicho. One that might actually help you with all this." She waved her arm, indicating the mounds of paper on his desk and floor. "I'm up for the job."

"Really?!" Hitsugaya said, the word coming out a bit more hopeful than he meant it to sound. Karin broke out in hysterics at the look on his face. He quickly scowled, which only caused her to laugh harder. She leaned backwards in her laughing fit, losing her balance and falling backwards onto the floor, taking a paperwork tower with her. Hitsugaya looked murderous. Karin tried desperately to regain her composure.

"Sorry," she apologized rapidly, her eyes still full of laughter. "I'll help with those!"

"Don't bother," Hitsugaya said darkly, crouching down to pick up his fallen paperwork that was now strewn all over the office.

"Oh, shut up, not everything is about your pride you know!" she asserted, grabbing papers and placing them onto the stack. Hitsugaya didn't respond, but he didn't try to stop her either. Eventually, they had recovered all the papers into a slightly messier pile, but a pile nonetheless.

"Those were alphabetized," Hitsugaya said with a sigh.

"Sorry," Karin apologized genuinely. She really hadn't meant to create _more_ work for him; god knows he had enough of it already.

"Thanks," he said grudgingly. "For helping."

"Don't thank me!" Karin said startled. "I made the mess!" Hitsugaya shrugged, then returned to his desk.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't talk today," he said in a defeated voice. "I really have to finish this."

"Ok," Karin said sympathetically. "I'm sorry again for causing you so much trouble." Hitsugaya waved her off. Karin was almost out the door when a thought struck her.

"You know," she said turning around to face him again. "If you _really_ want to thank me for helping, I'd love to spar with you sometime! I'm getting a little out of shape." That did it. His face visibly relaxed, and while he didn't give her his usual smirk, he at least wasn't frowning anymore.

"How about tomorrow?" he offered. Karin beamed.

"See you then!" she said excitedly before bounding out of the office.


	6. Something They Never Actually Had

**Please remember that for this story I made the assumption that all souls keep their memories. The story doesn't work otherwise.**

_It was freezing. The wind was howling and the rain came down in icy sheets, drenching him to the bone. But he was oblivious to the storm and the cold. He was focused on one thing. A girl, in the river, drowning._

_"Onii-chan!" she sputtered, gasping desperately for air. "Help…" but she didn't finish whatever it was she was trying to say because at that moment, a wave rushed over her, pushing her under the surface. He dove in after her, not bothering to even remove his shoes. He searched for her, but it was so dark, he couldn't see anything. And then, finally, there she was. Floating eerily in the water, arms outstretched like a voodoo doll, with a trail of bubbles rising slowly from her mouth. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kicked hard, trying desperately to get to the surface. But he couldn't swim and her dead weight wasn't helping. He thrashed wildly, pushing with all his might, but he just couldn't break the surface. His lungs were burning. His legs were aching. Darkness slowly closed in around him until he couldn't see anymore. _

_"Haruka!" he screamed into the water._

Hitsugaya awoke drenched in cold sweat. It was a dream. Only a dream. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing, listening to his heart pound against his chest. He knew he wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep. He never could, not after _that_ dream.

Deciding that the dullness of paperwork might help calm his nerves, he got dressed and headed towards the office.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Where is it!?" Karin cried in frustration. "I know I put it in my pocket!" Karin had waited eagerly for Yuzu to return home, wanting to give her the letter from Hanataro as soon as possible, but for some reason, when she reached into her pocket, it was gone. She had made up some dumb excuse to Yuzu and ran off to find it. Karin looked everywhere, tearing her room apart in the process. If she had just read the stupid thing, she could have passed on the message verbally, but no, she had to respect her sister's privacy.

"Idiot!" she thought angrily, "I know exactly what it says!" But she didn't really, although she had a general idea. But, if she was wrong, she didn't want to embarrass Hanataro any more than necessary. The poor boy was so fragile as it was.

"Think Karin!" she scolded herself. "Think!" And then it hit her: the office! When she had fallen off the desk in Hitsugaya's office and crawled around on the floor for an hour. That had to be when it fell out. She raced out of her room and into the night.

Karin didn't meet anyone on her way. She wasn't expecting to, it was really late. She had spent hours checking and double checking every nook and cranny in her room, which wasn't particularly neat to begin with. She let herself into the 10th squad office and scanned the room. Nothing, not even a single piece of paper on the floor. Karin sighed. Maybe she was wrong after all. But then where the heck was it?

Karin head footsteps coming down the hall and froze.

"Who on earth is wandering around at this time of night?" she wondered. But whoever it was, she didn't think she should be caught snooping around someone else's office. She looked around desperately and saw a closet in the corner. Perfect! She climbed inside and suppressed her reiatsu, shutting the door just as the office door slid open.

From the slit between the closet doors, Karin could see a captain's haori and a shock of white hair.

"Toushiro?" she wondered. "Is he really working this late at night? Damn, now I'm stuck here!" Actually, Karin knew Hitsugaya wouldn't really mind catching her in the office, but if she walked out of the closet now like it was perfectly natural, she might arouse some suspicion that she wasn't willing to deal with. So she decided to wait it out.

Hitsugaya was indeed working. Karin could smell the ink and hear the gentle motion of his brush against paper. She leaned back against the closet wall, wondering vaguely if she should fall asleep, when she heard more footsteps and loud voices in the hall. Hitsugaya groaned audibly and Karin suppressed a laugh.

The door slid open and the smell of sake filled even Karin's secluded closet.

"Wait, wait right there!" Matsumoto called to her drinking buddies. "Don't you dare move! Just let me get my…" she stopped when she saw Hitsugaya.

"Taicho!" she cried in surprise, stumbling over to his desk and leaning so far forward on it that her "assets" were in danger of falling out of her shirt. "What are you doing here so late?" Hitsugaya didn't have to respond. Matsumoto saw the look in his eyes and sobered up immediately.

"Sorry fellows," she said, sticking her head out the door. "I'm staying here." And she slammed the door in their faces before they could protest. She sighed deeply and turned back towards Hitsugaya. All traces of her irresponsible rowdiness had vanished to be replaced almost instantly by concern and understanding.

"So taicho," she said sympathetically. "You had that dream again, didn't you?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya admitted. Matsumoto and Hinamori were the only people who knew about his dream. Hinamori had known for ages, ever since they were children, and Matsumoto had pried it out of him one night when she found him sitting on the roof on the verge of tears.

"You've got to forget about her taicho," Matsumoto said, the hurt apparent in her voice. "It's not healthy to dwell on the past like this." Hitsugaya sighed.

"I know. But I just can't."

"Taicho…"

"I love her so much Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya said painfully. "How can I just forget her?"

"You know it's for the best taicho," she said motherly. "For you, and for Haruka." Hitsugaya lowered his gaze.

"I just…I just wish I could find her" he said, his voice catching in his throat. "Tell her…tell her I'm sorry…"

"I know taicho," Matsumoto said soothingly, coming over to him and wrapping her arms around him. "I know." They stood there for a while, Matsumoto rocking him gently. Finally they broke apart. Hitsugaya shook his head to try to compose himself, then said,

"I'm going to bed now." Matsumoto nodded. She looked at his receding back longingly, then followed him out.

It took Karin a while to realize that they were gone. She stumbled out of the closet. Her legs didn't seem to be working properly.

"Toushiro's in _love_?" she asked aloud, and the words stung her straight to the heart. She felt an animosity she had never imagined possible growing towards this Haruka girl.

Until that moment, Karin had never fully appreciated what Hitsugaya really meant to her. She had always taken him for granted. He was always just there, just hers, her best friend and the person she cared about the most. But as jealousy filled her heart, she realized the true nature of her feelings towards him. She was in love with Hitsugaya Toushiro. As she thought it, it stuck her that she had known it for years, but was too blind and stubborn to admit it. He had always been there for her when she needed him, helping her out, supporting her, putting up with her rants and her teasing. She had suspected that he might like her as more than friend, but she had ignored his affections because she didn't want to return them. But now, with this new discovery, she understood the truth.

"I love him," she admitted with a painful heart. "But he's not mine and never has been. I feel like I've lost something that I never actually had." A tear, the first in a very long time, rolled slowly down her face.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next morning, Hitsugaya was feeling somewhat better. He got out of bed and glanced out his window at the early morning sky. When he first came to Soul Society, he used to dream about Haruka all the time. But the dreams had become less frequent as time passed. Matsumoto said they were perfectly normal, everyone thinks about their family and friends for the first hundred years or so, but they get over it eventually. But Hitsugaya was having trouble letting go of his sister. She had been his constant companion in life, and the fact that he hadn't been able to save her that night still haunted him. He knew Matsumoto was right, that he should forget her and move on. It was so rare to be reunited with people in Soul Society. But that didn't stop him from trying. He and Hinamori used to search for their families together during their Rukongai days, but Hinamori had outgrown it long before he had. He still kept his eyes and ears open for any sign of his long lost sister, but so far, he hadn't had even a hint of her whereabouts.

He sighed, then decided he had better get to the office. As an unspoken rule, Matsumoto always took the morning after one of his dreams off. Not that she really needed the excuse, but Hitsugaya actually appreciated the time to be alone and regain his dignity after the night's events.

A mountain of paperwork greeted him, but he was far too used to the sight to care. He decided that this morning he would tackle the stack that Karin had knocked over the day before. It would take more time than the others, considering the fact that it was completely out of order.

He was halfway through the pile when he picked up something unusual. It was an ordinary piece of paper written on standard 4th squad stationary, but it was highly wrinkled, like someone had been manhandling it.

Hitsugaya looked down at it and frowned. It wasn't a form or a memo. It looked more like a letter. And it was extremely short. He started to read and realized immediately that it wasn't addressed to him. It was addressed to Kurosaki-san.

"Kurosaki-san?" he thought confused. "How did this get in my pile?" Karin must have dropped it, he realized. It had probably fallen out of her pocket when she fell and had been picked up and put on the stack with all the other papers on the floor. He was about to fold it up to give to her later, when a single word caught his eye, and he found himself reading the letter in spite of himself. It simply said,

"Kurosaki-san, I think you are the most wonderful woman in the world. Will you be my girlfriend? Hanataro."

"What?!" Hitsugaya said in a strangled voice. Jealousy, waves of sour jealousy washed over the normally stoic and emotionless taicho as he read the words over and over. He knew that Hanataro was Karin's sempai, but he hadn't thought that there was anything more than that between them. Karin had never spoken about him with anything resembling affection, but then, affection wasn't exactly Karin's style. But if Hitsugaya knew anything about Hanataro, it was that he was inordinately shy and unconfident. He would never ask out a girl unless he was certain of her response. He wouldn't risk that kind of emotional defeat.

"Why should I care?" he reprimanded himself. "Why should it matter that Karin's found someone?" But it _did_ matter. As much as Hitsugaya tried to avoid it, deny it, pretend it wasn't there, it was. His feelings for Karin ran deep, deeper than they ever had for anyone else. He just wasn't himself around her and he knew it. Well, actually, he was _more_ himself around her, which bothered him even more. He was kinder and gentler to her than he even was to Hinamori, yet he could also fight against her using his bankai and know that she would thank him for it. Every time he saw her, he got a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach and his frosty exterior began to melt, leaving him flustered and nervous. He was much more apt to let his emotions show when he was with her. She meant everything to him, but he refused to admit his true feelings, even to himself. But sitting there, staring at that letter, and picturing Karin in arms of someone else, his heart filled up with a strange combination of hatred and grief.

"I love her," he said aloud, and hearing the words come out of his own mouth made them more real than he could ever have imagined. "But she's not mine and never has been. I feel like I've lost something that I never actually had."

**Note: Haruka's name means "Scent of Spring," which I thought matched well with Toushiro, which means "White Winter." Oh, and just in case you still don't get it, Haruka is Hitsugaya's sister, but Karin doesn't know that.**


	7. Lost

Karin was in a foul mood that day. She had been miserable when she woke up, but she wasn't capable of being depressed for too long, and her emotions soon gave way to inexplicable anger. She shouted at a squadmate for slacking, snapped at everyone who asked her a question, and even told a whimpering girl with an enormous gash in her arm to "Suck it up and shut it."

But the worst was her encounter with Hanataro. Karin normally had very little patience when it came to his excessive formality and lack of confidence, but today she didn't even try to be polite. He came up to her, wringing his hands and staring at his feet.

"What Hanataro?" she barked more loudly than she should have, causing him to flinch.

"Ano," he mumbled. "Did…did you give my letter to Kurosaki-san?" _The letter_! With everything that had happened, Karin had completely forgotten about it.

"No," she spat. Hanataro looked utterly crestfallen.

"Oh…ok," he said simply. That did it.

"For once in your life Hanataro, be a man!" she bellowed. "If you love her than tell her yourself! Don't hide behind other people, keeping secrets, pretending everything's alright the way it is. She should hear it directly from your mouth! She at least deserves that for putting up with you." Hanataro didn't fully comprehend Karin's speech, after all, she wasn't really directing it towards him, but he got the gist.

"Oh. Ok..." He trailed off, deciding that it was safer to leave Karin alone for now. Something was clearly upsetting her and he knew better than most people what it was like to be on the receiving end of her wrath.

Karin punched a wall in frustration leaving a nice sized dent, but she didn't care. Her little outburst had really gotten to the root of her anger. Sure, she felt heartbroken at the thought that Hitsugaya loved someone else, but even more than that, she felt betrayed. Why hadn't he told her? He was her best friend, or at least, that's what she had thought. Why did he hide something so important from her? Especially when Matsumoto so obviously knew everything.

"I really need to let off steam," she said to herself. "Maybe Ikkaku will spar with me…" but then she remembered. Hitsugaya had promised to spar with her that day. A vindictive grin crossed her face. She could fight with everything she had against him and take out all her frustrations on the one who had caused them. Oh boy, was she going to enjoy this.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Hitsugaya on the other hand, was not looking forward to his upcoming sparring match with Karin. He really didn't want to face her, he was too angry and hurt. She didn't know that he had read the letter and he couldn't admit to her that he had, so he couldn't really confront her about it. Not that there was anything to confront her about. She was a free woman, she could date whomever she wanted; but the pain would not go away.

He heard her footsteps thundering down the hall and braced himself. He could hide all his emotions when he wanted to; it was what he did best. The door flew open.

"Toushiro!" Karin cried, a wild look in her eyes. "Let's go! You promised to spar with me today!" Hitsugaya sighed and looked at the stacks of paper around him. They were mostly finished, but Karin didn't know that.

"I have a lot of work to do," he said, looking away from her. "Maybe some other time…"

"No!" Karin interrupted. "Now." Her voice sounded dangerous, almost threatening.

"Are you alright Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked, forgetting his jealousy for a moment in his concern for her. He had never heard her use that tone before.

"I'm fine!" she said, her lips curling in malice. "Now let's fight." Hitsugaya decided that talking anymore was pointless. There was no way she was going to let him get out of this sparring match. Besides, if something was really bothering her, it was much more likely to come out on the battlefield than sitting around in his office. He understood that concept well, he was the same way. So he picked up Hyourinmaru and followed her to the training grounds (outdoors this time).

Karin felt a rush of malevolent excitement as she drew her sword and faced Hitsugaya, the desire to fight him to the edge coursing through her veins.

"How about we fight with shikai Toushiro?" she suggested. Hitsugaya gaped.

"Are you sure…?" he started to say, but Karin didn't wait for him to protest.

"Electrify, Kuroishikyo!" she shouted, and the sword in her hand morphed once again into the deadly scythe. Hitsugaya smirked in spite of himself. It had been a long time since he had sparred with his shikai, most people were petrified of it, but he knew that Karin was up for it. The feeling of anticipation for their upcoming match was growing, and he was actually becoming rather excited.

"Ok, if that's how you want it," he said, finally feeling ready for battle. "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!" The air grew cold as the ice gathered around his sword, swirling into the ferocious dragon. The sky overhead darkened as storm clouds collected around the two weather controlling zanpaktos. Thunder boomed and lightning cracked as the electric hail storm brewed ominously.

"Death by lighting!" Karin cried holding her scythe high in the air to allow the lightning to gather around the blade. She redirected it towards Hitsugaya, who blocked it and sent Hyourinmaru straight towards her. But Karin's reiatsu alone was enough to deflect the ice dragon, and she summoned more lightning for a second attack.

Karin fought more viciously than she ever had before. This fight wasn't about training for her; it was about revenge. Revenge for keeping secrets from her, revenge for falling in love with someone else, and revenge for being the one person she loved above all others. She loved him, she knew that now, and she hated herself for it. She hated that she had fallen for him, hated that she was aware of it, and hated that he didn't love her back. So she attacked with everything she had, fighting with more malice and bloodlust than ever before. She wanted him to share her pain, even if it was only physical.

She sent another lighting attack towards him. But it was only a distraction. She used the split second he took to block it and fired a powerful kido. He had to jump to avoid it, but the rapid succession of her attacks left him vulnerable for a moment, and Karin seized that advantage. She charged straight towards him, scythe held in front of her like a lance, intending to harm, intending to maim.

And then suddenly, the world around her dissolved. She was still running, but she was no longer in the training grounds. She was in a dark prairie surrounded by waist high grass. Karin stopped running as she realized where she was.

"What am I doing here?" she wondered aloud.

"I brought you here," her zanpakto replied from behind her.

"Why?" Karin spat, sounding much ruder than she meant to be and whipping around to face the creepy black cloak.

"Because you are weak," Kuroishikyo replied darkly.

"What?" Karin said through gritted teeth. She didn't know why she was being so disrespectful towards Kuroishikyo, but right now, Karin was in the mood to kill just about anything. And she was pissed that Kuroishikyo had pulled her away just seconds before she landed a hit on Hitsugaya.

"Your soul is weak," Kuroishikyo explained. "You are a healer Karin. Healers do not fight this way."

"But I'm not a healer!" Karin objected. "Not really. Just because I'm in 4th squad doesn't mean I want to be there! Just knowing some healing kido doesn't make me a healer. I want to kill hollows. I want to fight. I'm _made_ to fight. You know that better than anyone!"

"I don't deny that," Kuroishikyo agreed. "But nonetheless, you are a healer, and with that comes responsibility. Healers do not fight for vengeance. They fight to protect. I will not lend you my strength in your current state."

"But…" Karin tried to protest, but Kuroishikyo wasn't finished.

"Until you learn the true reason behind why you fight and why you have such tremendous power, I cannot help you anymore." She turned around and started to walk away, her cloak billowing out behind her in the nonexistent wind.

"Wait!" Karin cried desperately. "Kuroishikyo! Don't leave me! Please, I need you!" But Kuroishikyo ignored her.

"No!" Karin screamed, but it was futile and she knew it. She fell to her knees in despair.

"Kuroishikyo," she said longingly. She looked up, and found that she was back in the training grounds, still on her knees, watching Hitsugaya regain his balance. But she no longer held a scythe in her hands. It was simply a black and silver sword. Karin knew that calling Kuroishikyo's name now would have no effect. Her zanpakto had sealed herself, and until Karin learned how to fight with the proper state of mind, she wouldn't come back.

"Kurosaki, is everything alright?" Hitsugaya asked, coming over to her, sealing his zanpakto as he did so. "You sealed your shikai. Why?"

"_You_," Karin hissed. She shot him a look of pure hatred. She had never been so furious in her entire life. "This is all your fault!" Hitsugaya was, understandably, taken aback.

"What the heck are you talking about?" he asked crossly. Karin glanced at her utterly useless zanpakto and found herself holding back tears.

"I've lost _everything_," she said in a defeated voice. "I've lost the ability to fight the way I want to, I've lost my zanpakto, I've lost…" she wanted to say 'you,' but she just couldn't bring her mouth to form the word. Hitsugaya still didn't know what was going on, but watching Karin, strong, spirited Karin, wallow in despair on the verge of tears nearly broke his heart. He reached out a hand to touch her arm, but Karin swatted it away.

"Don't touch me!" she snarled. "I hate you, Hitsugaya Toushiro!" Hitsugaya felt like he had just been hit head on with one of her death by lightning attacks. Anger welled up inside him at her words. How _dare_ she!? She could go and live happily ever after with Hanataro for all he cared!

"Fine," he said menacingly. "If that's how you feel, then I don't care anymore!"

"Well I don't care either!" she retorted, and they stormed off the field in opposite directions. They both waited until they were far away and secluded. And then Kurosaki Karin and Hitsugaya Toushiro, two of Soul Society's fiercest warriors, simultaneously broke down crying.

**Sorry this story has become so depressing. Unfortunately, I think it's going to stay like that for a while, but I promise it'll get better at some point.**


	8. Found

A week later, Karin was restocking bandages when Unohana approached her.

"Karin-san," she said sweetly.

"Yes Unohana taicho?" Karin replied.

"I need you to do me a favor. We've just had an emergency request for a healer in West Rukongai's 57th district."

"We take care of Rukongai?" Karin asked. She had never heard of anyone getting sent to Rukongai. Normally, they only treated shinigami.

"We do on occasion," Unohana said with a smile. "Apparently, a shinigami started a bar brawl there and some people ended up severely wounded."

"So it's our responsibility to clean up the mess?" Karin said with a sigh. Unohana simply smiled again. Her constant smiling gave Karin the creeps sometimes.

"Thank you Karin-san. And bring your zanpakto. You never know how rough it might be out there." Karin wanted desperately to roll her eyes, but refrained out of respect for her taicho. Unohana apparently thought that she was doing Karin a favor by sending her somewhere where she might actually have to defend herself, but Rukongai ruffians weren't exactly Karin's idea of stimulating opponents. Nevertheless, she gathered the materials she thought she might need and headed out.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kurosaki Masaki walked home humming innocently, trying to draw attention away from herself. Well, more specifically, she wanted to draw attention away from the contents of the basket she was carrying. Although there were flowers sticking strategically out the top, the important cargo was the two fish and the box of rice wrapped neatly at the bottom. Recently, her adopted daughter had started to show signs of spirit power. As her reiatsu intensified, so did her appetite, but food was such a precious commodity in 57th district that Masaki was having difficulty procuring it. The little that she could get her hands on was more valuable than gold, and all she wanted was to get her current batch home safely.

She turned the corner and saw several men sprawled on the ground in front of one of the local taverns. Some were unconscious, while others clutched at bandaged limbs. But what really caught Masaki's attention was the shinigami. It was rare to see shinigami out here, but even rarer for them to help cure the wounded. Masaki watched with interest. The shinigami had her back to her and was kneeling over a burly man who was holding his stomach and howling in pain. The shinigami whispered a few choice words and enveloped the man in a blue glow. Slowly, the man stopped screaming as his wound closed. The shinigami washed and dressed it, scolded him for being an idiot, then, her job done, stood to leave. She turned around, saw Masaki, and her jaw dropped open in surprise.

"Kasan?" Karin said in utter disbelief. Masaki gasped. She almost, _almost_, dropped her basket.

"Karin?" she replied hopefully. Karin grinned and Masaki ran to her and embraced her daughter for the first time in fourteen years.

"Oh Karin," Masaki gushed. She pulled back and cupped Karin's face in her hands. "Look at you, my little girl, all grown up."

"I'm not that grown up," Karin said incredulously, beaming from ear to ear. "I still look like a kid."

"I would say it's wonderful to see you, but that would mean being happy that you're dead," Masaki said, joy glittering in her eyes. Karin chuckled.

"It's not so bad," she replied. "Oyaji, Yuzu, and Ichi-nii are here too, so we're all together. And now that we've found you, we can be a family again! Oh, I just can't wait to tell them, Oyaji's going to have a heart attack!" Masaki beamed at her daughter, then hugged her again.

"Can you come over for tea?" she offered. "I'd love to hear how everyone is doing, what your life is like, everything!"

"Of course!" Karin said brightly. The two of them walked together to Masaki's house, Karin chatting eagerly about everything that had happened since Masaki had died. She told her about her life in Soul Society, about Ichigo and Isshin becoming taichos, how she and Yuzu were together in 4th squad, and all the wonderful friends she had made. But she didn't mention Hitsugaya. The topic was still painful for her and besides, how much of life can you talk about in twenty minutes?

"So what about you Kasan?" Karin asked. "What's it been like, living alone in Rukongai?"

"Actually," Masaki replied, "I'm not alone. A couple years after I arrived here, I adopted a girl as my daughter. She was alone too, so we made a good match. So I guess you have another sister."

"The more the merrier!" Karin exclaimed, glad that her mother had at least had a companion during all these years. "What's she like?"

"Actually," Masaki said with a smile, "she reminds me a little of your brother. She has spunk and spirit, but she's very kind-hearted. She's also extremely bright and insightful. She looks just a little younger than you do. I'm sure you'll like her."

They had reached a small house. It was situated along a river that was burbling gently. Next to the house was an enormous ginkgo tree, and its distinctive leaves were scattered everywhere, settling on the street, the roof, and all the way to the river, where the current carried them lazily away. There was a very well tended flower garden in front providing some desperately needed color to the otherwise drab surroundings. Karin smiled, surprised and pleased that her mother had created such a picturesque little home for herself in the middle of dusty Rukongai.

Masaki slid the door to the house open and Karin followed her inside.

"Haruka!" Masaki called. "Come in here a minute. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Haruka?" Karin thought hostilely. "No, there's no way she could be the same person." Haruka wasn't that uncommon a name. It was just a coincidence. Karin shrugged it off. Wow, she was thinking of Hitsugaya way too much for her own good.

"Coming!" called a voice from the next room, and in walked the most beautiful girl Karin had ever seen. To say that she was breathtakingly gorgeous would have been an insult. She had long, pale blond hair that cascaded over her shoulders in tight ringlets and extended all the way down her back. Her lime green eyes sparkled with hope and laughter, perfectly complimenting her smooth, flawless skin. Her lips were bright pink, the color of roses after a rain storm. Karin thought she looked like a picture of a water nymph she had seen once in a children's book while she was alive.

"Haruka," Masaki said sweetly. "This is Karin. She's my daughter." Haruka gasped and it was amazing how her look of astonishment made her appear even more stunning.

"It's wonderful to meet you Haruka!" Karin said warmly. "I'm Kurosaki Karin. I guess I'm your sister." Haruka smiled, and it lit up her face magnificently, her eyes dancing playfully.

"It's an honor to meet you Karin!" she said brightly. "Kasan has told me about you before. I'm Hitsugaya Haruka."

Karin froze. It seemed to her that time had stopped as the world spun slowly around her.

"Hit…_Hitsugaya_," she stuttered in disbelief. Karin had thought that the girl Hitsugaya had spoken of had been a long lost lover who had disappeared or abandoned him, but she never imagined that she had been his _wife_. Wasn't he too young to have a wife?! But people age so slowly in Soul Society that it wasn't all that unusual for people who looked young to get married. They were certainly more mature than their counterparts in the living world. Heck, Karin was at marital age herself, even though she still looked eleven. But the thought that this girl was Hitsugaya's wife was just more than Karin could bear.

"Karin, are you alright?" Masaki asked with concern. Karin's face had turned deathly pale.

"I'm sorry, Kasan, I…just remembered something important I have to do," she lied. "I'm sorry I can't stay. I'll visit you again." And with that, she tore out of the house, wanting to put as much space as humanly possible between her and that girl, that _Hitsugaya Haruka_.

**Yes, I know Karin is being a **_**little**_** silly, but the point is she is so sensitive about the whole Hitsugaya thing that she isn't thinking clearly. And besides, Hitsugaya is totally old enough to be married, even though he looks like a kid. Karin is too if you think about it. At this point in the fic, she is about 18. I think her thought process is totally reasonable considering her emotional state.**


	9. Fights, Friends, and Formalities

**I know you all have been complaining about how depressing this story is, so I'll tell you right now, that this is the last chapter of the gut-wrenching stuff and next time something really exciting happens. And it will get happy again, I promise, but come on, there is so much drama going on, that it's got to be depressing for a little while.**

Karin ran all the way back to Seireitei without stopping, taking as many roundabout paths as possible. It was an inordinately long run, but Karin didn't care. She needed the feel of the burn in her legs and the sting in her lungs to counteract the pain that couldn't go away; the one that was welling up in her heart.

She didn't know what to do. She had found her mother and was thrilled. She wanted to tell her family as soon as possible, but there was the slight complication of Hitsugaya Haruka, her new _sister_, and Hitsugaya's…Karin couldn't bring herself to even think the word wife. It was just too gut wrenching.

Karin reached Seireitei and ran through the streets aimlessly. She had no clear destination in mind, she just wanted to keep running. She turned the corner and…CRASH! Karin barreled into someone and now they were both sprawled out on the ground, clutching their heads in pain.

"Damn it!" Karin swore.

"Idiot! What the hell were you thinking…oh Karin!" Rukia gasped. "What's wrong with you, I thought you had more coordination than that?" Karin was still trying to catch her breath.

"Rukia!" she said startled. "I'm sorry, I just...I wasn't paying attention." Rukia chuckled.

"Well that was obvious." She held out a hand to help Karin up. "Where the heck are you going in such a hurry anyway?" Karin looked at her feet.

"Anywhere," she replied, and Rukia could hear the catch in her voice.

"Ok, come with me," she insisted, grabbing Karin's arm and leading her towards the 9th squad barracks. Karin followed Rukia, her mind still numb. They reached Rukia's room and Karin collapsed on the floor while Rukia made tea.

"You look exhausted," Rukia noted, looking at Karin's red face and the sweat that was trailing down her forehead and neck, drenching her clothing. "How long were you running for?" Karin shrugged.

"About three hours. I can't really remember."

"Three hours!" Rukia exclaimed. "That's quite the training session." She sat down and passed Karin the tea.

"I wasn't training," Karin mumbled, but Rukia already knew that.

"Now how about you tell me what's on your mind?" she said knowingly. Karin stared at her tea, debating whether or not she should say anything, but Rukia was someone she could trust completely. She was probably the best person to give her advice at the moment. She sighed deeply.

"Rukia," she began, "do you know if Toushiro has ever…been married?" Rukia was taken aback at this question, but she tried not to let it show.

"Not to my knowledge," she replied. "But then again, I don't know Hitsugaya taicho all that well. And he keeps to himself for the most part. I really don't know anything about his personal life, so it's definitely possible. Why?"

"Well," Karin said, taking a deep breath, "this morning Unohana taicho sent me to Rukongai to clean up some idiot's bar fight. And while I was there, I met..." Karin paused. She decided not to tell Rukia about her mother just yet. That would only make things more complicated.

"I met a girl," she continued. "A really beautiful girl. She said her name was…Hitsugaya Haruka." Karin stopped, unable to go on.

"Have you told Hitsugaya taicho?" Rukia asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," Karin admitted.

"Why not?"

"Because…" Karin couldn't think of a sufficient reason. Rukia wasn't blind. She could clearly see the jealousy and hurt Karin was trying so desperately to hide. Karin and Hitsugaya had been close for a long time. Rukia was entirely unsurprised that Karin had clearly fallen in love with him. But she wasn't going to tell her that. Karin wouldn't believe it unless she heard it from her own mouth. That had been the mistake she herself had made with Ichigo; she told him he loved her rather than waiting for him to say it himself, and she suspected that that was the reason he was being so wishy-washy and secretive about the whole thing.

"Karin," Rukia prompted gently.

"Because we're having a fight!" Karin yelled, knowing how stupid that sounded. "And…and we're not speaking to each other."

"Karin," Rukia said urgently. "This isn't about some stupid fight you had! This is important. Hitsugaya taicho is your best friend. You clearly found a relative of his and you have to tell him. If you don't and he finds out that you knew, he may never forgive you. Friends don't keep secrets like that from each other." She turned away and looked wistfully at the wall. Karin couldn't fail to notice her expression.

"You mean like the one you and Ichi-nii are keeping from everyone?" she asked shrewdly, and Rukia jumped.

"You knew?" she asked in a strangled voice, and, despite her situation, Karin burst out laughing.

"My brother is the most unsubtle person in the world!" Karin laughed. "He can no more hide a secret than Yuzu can ignore someone in pain! I've known for ages."

"That dolt!" Rukia scoffed, and Karin chuckled.

"Ichi-nii is just afraid of commitment. I know he loves you, he just doesn't want to admit to the rest of the world that he actually cares for someone. He thinks it'll make him seem soft. Trust me, he'll give up eventually. I can beat a proposal out of him if you want me too." Rukia smiled.

"Already tried that," she replied, and the two girls shared an amused smile. Karin stood to leave.

"Thanks for the advice, Kuchiki fukutaicho," Karin said, emphasizing Rukia's title. Karin was on a first name basis with so many high ranking shinigami, that she only used their titles when she was feeling particularly strongly towards them, like very grateful or very furious. Rukia knew this and accepted it with a smile.

"Anytime Karin," she replied.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Karin knew that Rukia was right. She hated to admit it, but if she really cared for Hitsugaya then she couldn't keep this a secret from him. She walked to the 10th squad office as if going to her execution. Taking a deep breath she slid the door open.

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were both in the office, working quietly at their desks. Hitsugaya looked up at Karin, and she thought she could see a flicker of excitement in his eyes for a brief moment, but it disappeared almost immediately to be replaced by his usual scowl.

"What do you want Kurosaki?" he asked coolly, looking down at his desk and returning to his paperwork.

"I didn't come to see you, Hitsugaya taicho," Karin sneered. Again with the title, but it had a very different meaning this time. Hitsugaya flinched when she said it, but didn't pause in his writing. It was amazing how, after years of urging her to call him that, the sound of the words coming from her mouth sliced through him like knives.

"I came to see you Rangiku-san," Karin said, turning to the strawberry blond woman. Matsumoto was very aware of the tension in the room, but did her best to pretend it wasn't there.

"What can I do for you Karin-chan?" she asked as brightly as she could, still watching her taicho out of the corner of her eye.

"I found my mother," Karin said matter-of-factly, and Matsumoto's eyes widened in surprise. Hitsugaya's brush stopped moving.

"She's in West Rukongai's 57th district, living in a small house next to a river. There's a flower patch in front growing lilies and daffodils and it's next to an enormous ginkgo tree, the largest I've ever seen."

"It sounds beautiful," Matsumoto said, still trying to understand why Karin was telling her all this. Karin wasn't usually so descriptive; she was often too impatient to bother with the details.

"Yes," Karin agreed. "And, she's not living there alone. She adopted a daughter. She's got bleached blond hair and lime green eyes. Her name's Hitsugaya Haruka." Matsumoto gasped audibly and her hand flew to her mouth. She turned slowly towards Hitsugaya's desk, not believing her ears.

"Taicho," she said in wonderment, but he was already gone.

**Yeah, I know some of you didn't want this to happen, but it shows that Karin loves Hitsugaya so much she is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for him. And things get more exciting from here on out, so look forward to that.**


	10. The River

Everyone in Seireitei could visibly see the change that had occurred in the 10th squad taicho. In the past week he had spent a tremendous amount of time in Rukongai and returned everyday with the closest thing to a smile anyone had ever seen on his face. What was even more surprising was that Matsumoto was willingly taking over the paperwork to allow him the time to slack off. Rumors were flying about a mystery woman who had stolen his heart. Why else was he so happy?

One person however, was not amused by the rumors. Karin avoided Hitsugaya, and any mention of his name, like the plague. After making Matsumoto promise (and begging her to have Hitsugaya promise too) to not tell her family about Masaki on the pretense that Karin was preparing some kind of surprise reunion, she had stayed far away from 10th squad and anything to do with it. She had heard that Hitsugaya had come looking for her several times, but she still wasn't in the mood to see him. In fact, she wasn't really in the mood for anything but fighting. After nearly severing Ikkaku's arm from his body, she decided that her rage was better taken out on bamboo training stacks, since they didn't have throats to cut, and so many of them fell victim to her blade that she quickly exhausted 9th squad's supply and switched to 3rd's.

And to make everything worse, Kuroishikyo still wouldn't come out. No matter how many times Karin called her name, she still did not respond, and Karin became more desperate and infuriated with each failed attempt. She became irritable and short tempered, snapping at everyone and refusing to speak to anyone for more than a minute. Even when Yuzu came in, red faced and beaming, to tell her that Hanataro had confessed and that they were officially dating, Karin could barely manage a "congratulations." Smiling was beyond her, but Yuzu was so giddy and excited that luckily, she didn't even seem to notice Karin's rudeness.

So Karin spent her days ditching work to mutilate bamboo in the 3rd squad dojo. 4th squad didn't have a dojo, and she technically wasn't allowed to use another squads' unsupervised, but her father was the 3rd squad taicho and she dared anyone to come and tell her that she couldn't be there. She would love the excuse for a punching bag.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya was having the time of his life. With his sister back at his side, the nightmare that had suffocated him for so long was dissipated. Haruka laughed at him when he apologized for not saving her that night. She said the whole thing was an accident and the only part she regretted was taking him with her.

Haruka didn't want to move to Seireitei just yet, though Hitsugaya had offered. She didn't mind her life in Rukongai, and despite her growing reiatsu, she had no desire to become a shinigami. So instead, Hitsugaya visited her every day. Matsumoto had been incredibly understanding and accommodating and Hitsugaya promised himself that he would give her a month off to thank her for taking over paperwork for the time being. And Masaki no longer had to worry about finding food for Haruka, as Hitsugaya provided more than was necessary.

But one thing still bothered Hitsugaya. He knew Karin was still angry at him, but he didn't understand exactly why. And he hadn't gotten over his own jealousy at her supposed romance with Hanataro. But he really wanted to thank her for finding Haruka and to find out why the heck she was so pissed at him, so he looked for her every day when he returned from Rukongai. But apparently she was angrier at him than he had thought, because he couldn't find her anywhere. He knew she was avoiding him and eventually gave up searching, deciding that when she was ready to come talk to him about what on earth had her so upset, she would come, and there was no point in trying to force a conversation with her when she so clearly didn't want one.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

About a week after their reunion, Haruka made an unusual request. They were sitting along the river behind Masaki's house. Haruka was barefoot and she dipped her feet lazily in the water, laughing as the mossy rocks tickled her toes.

"Onii-chan," she began, "doesn't this remind you of that river by our house?" Hitsugaya frowned. That was the river where they had drowned. He didn't think about it if he could avoid it.

"Not really," he replied. "That river had more rocks. And it was much faster." Haruka shook her head in amusement, then splashed him.

"Hey!" he cried, putting up his arm to cover his face. Haruka giggled.

"Hey, I've got a great idea!" she said suddenly, her eyes lighting up. "Let's go see our old town! We can see how much it's changed." Hitsugaya stared at her.

"Why would we want to do that?" he asked confused. "What's wrong with just being here?" Haruka pouted.

"Please!" she begged.

"That puppy-dog face never worked on me Haruka," he said amused, but he was lying and she knew it. It _always_ worked.

"Ok, fine!" he caved. "If you want to go so badly, I'll take you." Haruka jumped up gleefully and gave him a huge hug.

"Hey, get off me," he protested. "I don't hug!" Haruka laughed.

"You've become so cold, Onii-chan!" Hitsugaya scoffed.

"I've been through a lot," he replied. Haruka put her shoes back on, told Masaki that she and Hitsugaya were going out, and followed him to the senkai gate.

They came out in what was once a small farming village and gasped.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Haruka asked, clearly disappointed. "It looks so…developed." She was remembering the town of her childhood, where everyone knew everyone and chickens roamed the streets like it was perfectly natural. Now it was a modern town, with cars and bicycles and buildings made out of concrete. Not a chicken in sight. Hitsugaya nodded.

"This is why souls shouldn't go back," he explained. "Things change over time. They're never how you remember them."

"But the river is still here!" Haruka said excitedly, as if looking desperately for some positive aspect to this trip. "Oh, let's go for a walk!"

"We could have walked along the river in Rukongai," Hitsugaya said with a scowl, but he allowed himself to be dragged to the river bank.

"How do you still like this river?" he asked incredulously as he watched Haruka giggle gleefully and run to the water's edge. "It killed us!" This river had haunted his nightmares for decades. He certainly wasn't happy to see it. Haruka looked at him with pity.

"That's your problem, Onii-chan!" she scolded. "You only think about the worst aspects of things. You can't remember all the wonderful times we had here, going fishing, collecting rocks, having picnics. You can only remember the last few minutes you spent here."

"They were pretty traumatic minutes," Hitsugaya pointed out, but Haruka shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. It's the accumulation of experiences and memories that are important, not one little incident. It's like getting into a fight with your best friend. Just because you're mad doesn't mean you don't care about each other anymore."

Hitsugaya stared at her for a minute, then looked down at his hands. Her words had made him think of Karin much more than the river. Karin may be furious at him for some reason or another, but she had still told him about Haruka, even if in a roundabout fashion. She still cared for him, despite being angry. And, despite being jealous, he still cared about her. A lot. Harkua seemed to notice the change in his facial expression, and she came to sit beside him.

"Something bothering you, Onii-chan?" she asked gently. Hitsugaya sighed.

"You've met Kurosaki Karin right?" he asked, and she nodded. "Well, she's my best friend. I care about her more than anyone." He knew he was spilling his heart out, something he hated passionately, but he didn't care. This was his sister. She wouldn't laugh at him. And he had kept his feelings bottled up inside him for way too long.

"She's really mad at me," he continued. "Something about making her lose her zanpakto, but I don't really understand because she won't tell me. And she's avoiding me, so I can't ask her about it. I feel like I'm losing her and I don't know what to do." Haruka stared at her brother. She knew how painful it was for him to admit all that to her. But she could also see what he wasn't saying. He was in love with Karin. It was so obvious to Haruka that she smiled in spite of herself.

"Onii-chan…" she began, but she didn't get a chance to finish, because at that moment, a long crack appeared in the sky and the strangest thing Haruka had ever seen stepped out.

It was a man, but at the same time, it wasn't. He was tall and lanky and his limbs seemed to be disproportionately long for his body. He was wearing a flowing white cloak and had a hole in his stomach. There was a white mask covering half his face, and Haruka could see crazed bloodlust gleaming in his bright yellow eyes. He had royal blue hair that fell gracefully down his back like a waterfall.

Hitsugaya's eyes constricted as he analyzed the hollow.

"Arrancar?" he thought briefly. No. All the Arrancar were dead. But there was no doubt that this was a vasto lorde, and a powerful one at that, judging by his reiatsu level. Hitsugaya put one hand on Hyourinmaru's hilt and the other on Haruka's arm, pushing her behind him.

"Who are you?" he demanded. The vasto lorde smiled to reveal rows of blackened teeth.

"I don't think it really matters who I am shinigami," he sneered. "I've simply come for a meal."

"I thought all the vasto lorde were dead," Hitsugaya said darkly, glaring at the hollow.

"Not all of us joined ranks with Aizen," he replied casually. "Only the weak ones who felt like they needed the protection. Those of us with enough power of our own didn't need to become Arrancar to be strong. We were powerful enough already."

"Haruka," Hitsugaya said urgently, drawing his zanpakto. "Run!" But Haruka couldn't run. She was rooted to the spot, watching with deathly fear as Hitsugaya engaged the strange man in battle. Hitsugaya swung, but the hollow blocked his attack with his bare hand, grabbed Hyourinmaru's blade, and tossed Hitsugaya to the side as easily as swatting a fly. Before Hitsugaya could recover, the hollow had descended on Haruka.

"Over my dead body!" Hitsugaya roared, and jumped in front of her just in time. He received the blow intended for her, and blood spurted out of his stomach. He regained his composure and attacked again, succeeding in pushing the hollow backwards a little before he was struck again, this time on the side of the head.

"Damn it!" Hitsugaya swore, wiping blood out of his eyes. "If only I had my limiter released. I can't fight this guy this way, not when I have to protect Haruka!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Smash! Another bale of bamboo hit the ground in the 3rd squad dojo having been severed in half by a single swipe. Karin stared at it with disgust. She was getting restless. Massacring bamboo was only so satisfying. And it wasn't appeasing her anger or frustration. She heard someone enter the dojo and whipped around, a maniacal grin on her face, hoping that a worthy opponent had appeared. But her face fell instantly as she saw who it was.

"There you are Karin-chan!" Matsumoto gasped in relief, running up to her. "I've been looking everywhere for you! I need your help!" Matsumoto looked slightly hysterical. Karin wasn't used to seeing the normally proud and confident women frenetic with panic, but here she was, clinging onto Karin's collar for dear life.

"What's wrong, Rangiku-san…?"

"Taicho!" she said desperately. "Taicho needs help." Karin glared at her.

"This isn't some trick to get us to stop fighting is it?" Karin asked incredulously. Matsumoto stiffened, then, before she could stop herself, she slapped Karin across the face.

"This is an emergency Karin and all you can do is think about some childish little fight!" she screamed, nostrils flaring in fury. "Taicho's in the living world fighting an enormously powerful vasto lorde! He's just requested a limiter release!" Karin gasped. She knew what that meant. Hitsugaya hadn't requested to have his limiter released since the war with Aizen ended. If his opponent was that strong, he might really be in trouble.

"I need you to go Karin-chan," Matsumoto pleaded. "I know he needs help fighting and he'll definitely need a healer. I just know he's injured. He's with…someone he needs to protect." Matsumoto didn't know how much Karin knew about Haruka, and didn't think that this was the moment to explain. But Karin understood much more than Matsumoto was aware of. She knew that Hitsugaya was there with Haruka and she felt a wave of jealousy start to hit her. But before she allowed it to consume her, she left the dojo and sprinted towards the senkai gate. It didn't matter how upset and angry she was; she would _not_ let Hitsugaya die.

**Yay, Karin to the rescue! I promised this chapter would be exciting, and I hope you found it to be. Finally, the mood is a little less depressing and a little more action-filled! I definitely had fun writing this part.**


	11. The Angel of Black Death

Karin entered the living world and walked into a scene that she couldn't have imagined even in her worst nightmares. Hitsugaya, the ice wings of his bankai frozen on his back, was standing opposite an amused looking vasto lorde. While the hollow didn't have a scratch on him, Hitsugaya was bleeding profusely from several wounds and gasping for breath. He held Hyourinmaru bravely in a ready stance, but even at the distance she was at, Karin could see his hands shaking. He charged and was easily deflected. He hurtled through the air and smashed into a tree.

"Haruka!" he said in a strangled voice, before closing his eyes.

"NO!" Karin screamed, but no one seemed to have heard her. The hollow had turned towards Haruka, a deadly gleam in his eye. Haruka's terror had driven her to the edge. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she just stared at the hollow heading straight for her, eyes popping out, face ghostly pale.

Karin didn't think. She didn't need to. Drawing her sword, she raced towards them with all the speed she could muster, desperate to put herself between Haruka and the hollow, ready to sacrifice herself to save the girl.

And then suddenly, everything around her stopped. The hollow halted in his tracks, arms raised ready to strike. Haruka was already immobile, but a tear that had fallen from her eye air hung in midair inches from the ground, with no apparent plans to get any closer to it. The pool of blood around Hitsugaya stopped growing. The river beside them ceased flowing, as if it had frozen over, and a bird that was flying overhead was suspended in the sky mid-flap. Karin felt oddly like she had just walked into a painting. But before she could attempt to understand what had happened, a figure appeared in front of her. It was a black cloak, hovering eerily just above the ground, blowing in a wind that Karin couldn't feel.

"Don't save her!" Kuroishikyo threatened, and Karin checked.

"Why not?!" she growled, her hand tightening on the hilt of her sword.

"Why should you?" Kuroishikyo asked ominously. The question hit Karin like a ton of bricks. Why should she? If Haruka died, Hitsugaya would be all hers again. Belonging to no one, having no one but her…

"Because I'm a shinigami!" she said, more confidently then she felt. "Because a shinigami's job is to protect souls!"

"That's not good enough," Kuroishikyo replied. "Why are you running to her side?" Karin turned her gaze away from the cloak to Hitsugaya bleeding profusely, to the hollow, suspended in his attack, to Haruka, her look of utter terror plastered on her face, and sighed.

"Because she means the world to Toushiro," Karin said sadly. "And because he means the world to me. I would never be able to live with myself if I let someone who is so precious to him die. So, in order to protect Toushiro's happiness, I'm going to save her." There was silence for a moment.

"Is that your resolve?" Kuroishikyo asked seriously. Karin nodded.

"Yes," she replied, gripping her sword even harder.

"Very well," Kuroishikyo said. "But I still cannot allow you to fight."

"What!" Karin cried. "Why not!? Haven't I done what you asked? Haven't I found the reason why I fight?"

"Yes you have," Kuroishikyo responded, and although Karin couldn't see her face, she could hear the grin in her voice. "But you are not strong enough in your current condition. If I let you fight now, it would amount to suicide. So, in order for you to fight properly, I will lend you my full strength." Karin gasped. She knew what Kuroishikyo meant.

"I will tell you now Karin," she continued, "my true name." But Karin didn't need to hear it. Somehow, she found that she already knew.

"Bankai! Mitsukai Kuroishikyo!" Karin bellowed, and as time resumed its normal pace, Karin's bankai appeared.

Six black wings sprouted from her back forming a triangle shaped frame around her body as they decreased in size from top to bottom. The longest, at her shoulder blades, were large enough to wrap completely around her if they needed to, while the medium and smallest ones protected her arms and legs respectively. They were as thin as a spider web but powerful enough to deflect the strongest steel. A thick black cloak appeared. It was exactly like the one Kuroishikyo wore, trailing out behind her and covering her head, casting shadows across her face. Bandages wound themselves around her fingers to protect her hands and long chains decorated her wrists. Her scythe was back, but instead of one blade, there were six, three on each side decreasing in size as they ran down the handle, matching the shape of her wings. Karin could feel the power flowing through it more intensely than she ever had before. Storm clouds gathered overhead. The sound of thunder was louder than a bomb exploding and sent tremors through the water in the river.

In an instant, Karin had placed herself between Haruka and the hollow.

"Karin," Haruka whispered, but all of Karin's energy was focused on the creepy figure in front of her.

"Another shinigami!" he said gleefully. "My meal just got better!"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Karin said with a smirk. "But you're not eating anyone today!" Karin instinctively knew how to use her bankai. Swinging the chains at her wrist like a lasso, she snared the vasto lorde before he could move, pinning his arms to his sides. She held her scythe high in the air and shouted,

"Death by lighting!" Instead of one bolt of lightning like her usual attack, six streaks of blinding white light shot towards her, each gathering around one of the blades in an almost physical manifestation of raw electrical energy.

"It's over you bastard!" Karin said forebodingly. She placed the tip of her blades on the chain, and the electrical current flowed through the metal, incinerating the hollow the instant it made contact with him. He didn't even have time to scream.

"Are you alright?" Karin asked, turning towards Haruka, but she was still too shocked to speak. Karin shook her head and smiled.

"Everything's going to be alright now. The vasto lorde's dead and Toushiro…" then she remembered. Toushiro! He was still bleeding! She ran to his side, dropping her scythe, and examined him. He had numerous wounds on his stomach, arms, and head, but as far as Karin could tell, none of them were life threatening. She rolled up the sleeves of her cloak and enveloped him in blue kido, her face set in a look of determined concentration.

Haruka watched in awe as Hitsugaya's wounds slowly closed. He stopped bleeding, and some color returned to his cheeks. Karin fetched water from the river and washed away the blood. Except for his shredded clothing, he almost looked like he hadn't been injured at all. But as much as Haruka was amazed by Karin's healing skills, she was much more focused on the look on Karin's face and the way she so carefully and respectfully healed each wound and washed the blood off Hitsugaya's face and stomach. Karin's eyes glowed with determination to heal him and pain at seeing him injured, but shining even more prominently was an overwhelming sense of love. And Haruka, little insightful Haruka, could not fail to miss the look of total devotion and adoration that Karin was giving Hitsugaya. Haruka smiled at the thought that the woman her brother had fallen in love with returned his affections so deeply.

Finally, Karin sat back. She wiped her brow and breathed a sigh of relief.

"He'll be alright Haruka," she reassured her with a tired smile. "His wounds weren't deep so I was able to heal them almost completely. He fainted from blood loss, but I restored some of that. He'll be asleep for a bit while he recovers, but he's totally fine now."

"Wow!" Haruka marveled. "You're incredible Karin! No wonder Onii-chan loves you so much!"

"He doesn't love me, he loves…wait," Karin stared at Haruka with a look of utter astonishment. "_Onii-chan_! Toushiro is your _brother_?" Haruka looked mildly surprised, then giggled.

"Of course!" she said amused. "What did you think we were?"

"I…" Karin started, but she couldn't finish. The absurdity of what she had actually thought hit her full force and she started laughing her head off. Relief washed over her as she realized that it was all over. Nothing had changed. Hitsugaya was still hers, he wasn't in love with anyone else. Haruka looked at Karin with concern.

"Karin, are you alright?" she asked as Karin rolled on the ground, hood falling off her head, wings practically getting crushed under her.

"Yes, yes I'm fine!" Karin said, regaining her composure. She picked up her scythe and stared at it lovingly.

"Thanks Kuroishikyo," she whispered before sealing her bankai and returning her zanpakto to its normal state. She looked at Haruka and smiled.

"Come on," she said happily. "Let's get Toushiro home."

**Note: Karin's bankai, Mitsukai Kuroishikyo, means "Angel of Black Death," which I thought was fitting considering she is both a fighter and a healer.**

**There are only good things to come, and the next chapter WILL NOT be the last, so stick around for the happy stuff that I've deprived you of for so long.**

**And just so everyone knows, Karin's bankai (and zanpakto in general) was 95 percent Nefarious Seraph 13's idea.**


	12. I Don't Need to Hear It

**Thank you all for your reviews! I'm glad you liked the fight as much as I did. This story is officially my longest (in terms of word count) and most popular (in terms of reviews, favorites, and alerts) so I really want to thank you all for that. It means so much to me. Ok, on with happier things.**

Hitsugaya awoke in a room in 4th squad. It was dark outside. He didn't know how long he had been out, but that wasn't his concern at the moment.

"Haruka!" he exclaimed. He tried to sit up, but found that he was still too weak to do so.

"Yes Onii-chan?" said a voice beside him. Hitsugaya turned his head to see Haruka sitting in a chair next to his bed. She was beaming at him.

"Haruka, are you alright?" Hitsugaya asked with concern, but Haruka waved away his question.

"I knew you would recover!" she said excitedly. "Karin said you would."

"Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked in disbelief. "She was here?" Haruka smiled softly.

"She saved your life Onii-chan. And mine. She appeared right after you blacked out and used her bankai to kill that weird man in about two seconds. Then she healed you on the spot and carried you back here." Hitsugaya was floored. Karin had a bankai? When did she get that? But that wasn't what shocked him the most.

"She saved me?" he asked, more to himself than to Haruka. "After everything she said to me? Why?" Haruka sighed and shook her head. Boys were so stupid sometimes.

"Because she loves you Onii-chan," she explained. "Trust me, I can tell." Hitsugaya was about to protest, to say that no, she was in love with some 4th squad member named Hanataro, when he heard the voice of the man in question sound just outside his door.

"Kurosaki-san!" Hanataro said breathlessly. "You're still here?" Hitsugaya held his breath. He heard a soft giggle.

"Hanataro-kun," Yuzu said sweetly, "we're dating now, so please call me Yuzu."

"You sound like Kurosaki-san," Hanataro mumbled and Yuzu giggled again.

"See, now that's just confusing. So it's Yuzu ok?"

"Alright then, Yuzu-san," Hanataro replied nervously. More giggles.

"I guess that will do for now," Yuzu said happily. Their voices became fainter and Hitsugaya could hear their footsteps echo down the hall.

"The letter was for Yuzu?" he thought and almost slapped himself. Of course it had been for Yuzu! Hanataro was shy, patient, and soft-spoken, everything Karin_ wasn't_ and Yuzu _was_. Yuzu and Hanataro were the perfect couple while Karin…well, she just couldn't stand people like him. Hitsugaya berated himself for letting jealousy overwhelm his sense of logic. Clearly if he had taken a moment to think about it, he would have seen how absurd his thought process had been. But if that was the case, he realized excitedly, then Karin wasn't actually attached to anyone! She was still his! But then he remembered that, despite having saved his life, she still wasn't speaking to him.

Haruka watched the multitude of emotions play across her brother's face and realized that he was having a very important internal conversation; one that she didn't need to be a part of.

"I'll let you go back to sleep now, Onii-chan," she said and stood to leave.

"I just slept all day!" he protested, but for some reason, he was still exhausted. Haruka smiled at him.

"Karin said that you needed to sleep to recover from all your blood loss. She said that if you woke up at all, it would only be for a few minutes. I'll come see you again tomorrow." She smiled again, then left the room. Hitsugaya wanted to process his thoughts a little longer, but weariness overcame him and he was asleep within minutes.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Hitsugaya next opened his eyes, it was morning. Sunlight streamed in through the window and illuminated the soft white sheets on his bed. He felt much better than he had the night before. He turned his head and gasped. Sitting in the chair that Haruka had occupied the previous evening, was Karin. Her head rested on his bed, mere inches from his own. Her hair flowed over her face and onto his pillow, and there was a little drool forming at the corner of her mouth. Hitsugaya reached out his hand and lovingly drew her hair off her forehead and placed it behind her ear. He didn't know what she was doing there, but he didn't care. She was here, and that was enough.

Hitsugaya watched her sleep for a little while. Finally, she stirred and groaned.

"Yuzu, I don't want to wake up yet," she murmured, and the sound that came out of Hitsugaya's mouth was as close to laughter as it ever got.

"Sorry Kurosaki," he said amused, "but I'm not Yuzu." Karin bolted upright.

"Toushiro!" she exclaimed.

"Good morning," he replied, the smirk that was almost a smile spreading across his face. "You know, I'd ask you what you were doing in my room, but I can clearly see; drooling on my bed."

"I don't drool!" Karin said angrily, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. They stared at each other for several moments, then Karin lowered her eyes.

"Toushiro," she said seriously. "I'm so sorry. I was an idiot and I…"

"Don't," Hitsugaya stopped her. "You saved my life. And my sister's. That's apology enough." Karin still didn't raise her head.

"I was such a fool," she said painfully. "You're the most important person in my life and I pushed you away over something so stupid…"

"I thought I told you to stop," Hitsugaya replied. He put a hand on her chin to raise her head and saw tears glistening in her eyes.

"You aren't the only one who was guilty in that fight. I was too. We were both wrong. So stop," he said, staring at her sincerely. Karin nodded and smiled gratefully.

"Actually," Hitsugaya said, suddenly nervous. "There's something I want to tell you. When you weren't speaking to me, I realized something important. Something I guess I've known for a while but was too stubborn to admit. Karin, I…"

"Ok, now it's your turn to stop," Karin insisted, and Hitsugaya's eyes opened wide with surprise.

"Oh," he said, a flush appearing in his cheeks. "Forget it. I'm sorry I said anything…"

"I thought I told you to stop," Karin echoed his own words. "I didn't stop you because I don't _want_ to hear it, I stopped you because I don't _need _to hear it." He looked at her expectantly.

"You're not a sap," she continued. "And I'm not either. So can we please skip all the mushy stuff and just get on with it?" Hitsugaya's face broke into a grin. Not an amused look of annoyance or a smirk just pretending; a real grin. He remembered exactly why he loved Karin so much. He closed his eyes and leaned forward.

And missed.

Karin burst out laughing as she felt Hitsugaya's lips brush across her cheek and land on her ear. She fell off her chair onto the floor, grabbing her stomach as she rolled around on her back, laughing so hard she thought her face might split in half. Hitsugaya was beet red.

"Oh, Toushiro," Karin stuttered, still howling with laughter. "You can kill a hundred hollows in one shot, run your squad with an iron fist, and bring Aizen Souske to his knees, but you can't manage to coordinate yourself enough to land a simple kiss!?"

"Shut up!" Hitsugaya mumbled, thoroughly embarrassed. "I've never kissed anyone before…" but he stopped midsentence. It was understandable as Karin had hoisted herself off the floor and straddled him in one fell swoop.

"I haven't either," she admitted with a grin. She closed the gap between them and this time, her aim was dead on. She pressed her lips to his and they both felt the rush as passion for each other flowed through them. Everything that had happened, their fight and misunderstandings, melted away as they wrapped their arms around each other and held on for dear life, their lips locked together in the sweetest battle either of them had ever been a part of.

After a while, they pulled apart, and Karin lay in the bed, snuggled up next to him, his arm wrapped protectively around her. This was exactly where she always wanted to be; as close to Hitsugaya as possible. In the midst of her bliss, Karin remembered something.

"Hey, Toushiro," she whispered.

"Hmm?" he asked softly.

"You called me Karin," she said playfully. Hitsugaya smiled and wondered vaguely if he would be doing that more often from now on.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I guess I did."

**Aww, it's so sweet I'm getting zits. Anyway, as promised, this will not be the last chapter. There are way too many loose ends to tie up with the rest of the family, and besides, this story was so depressing for so long it deserves to be happy for a little while longer. I think there will be two more chapters after this one.**

**Also, to thank you, whoever ends up being the first reviewer, and thus this story's 100th reviewer, gets a one-shot from me (other people are welcome to submit ideas as well. Maybe they'll end up in the sequel!)**


	13. Promises and Secrets

**Congrats to animegamemaster6, who was my hundredth reviewer! Yay, my first story to reach 100 reviews! If you want a one-shot, let me know. Thank you all for reading and reviewing :)**

**And message to Artificial Life Creator, I already wrote you a one-shot (The Plan), but if you want me to write another one, you can just request it and if I like the idea I'll probably write it (that goes for all my readers, I love ideas. You don't have to "win" a contest or anything, I just like writing one-shots.)**

"Hanataro?" Karin asked incredulously.

"Shut up," Hitsugaya replied, turning slightly red.

"But _Hanataro_? Honestly Toushiro, I thought you knew me better than that!" Hitsugaya and Karin had left 4th squad and were telling each other exactly what had happened over the past week. Karin wanted Hitsugaya to understand why she had been so mad, so she confessed about hiding in the closet in his office and explained Kuroishikyo's abandonment.Hitsugaya decided to commiserate and told her about reading the letter meant for Yuzu.

"Hey," he retorted, "you thought I was in love with my sister! Don't you think I would have told you if I had a wife?" Karin frowned.

"You didn't tell me you had a sister," she pointed out. Hitsugaya sighed.

"I'm sorry about that," he said honestly. "But I didn't want you to worry about me. I never thought I would find her so it didn't really matter."

"But it does matter!" Karin said adamantly. "I'm your friend Toushiro! If something's bothering you, I want to know. Don't keep it all bottled up inside. Promise me that you won't keep important secrets from me again. Ok?"

"Alright, I promise," Hitsugaya replied, his amused smirk back on his face. "But only if you promise to stop calling yourself my friend and start calling yourself my girlfriend. I don't want to be like your brother, trying to hide what doesn't really need to be hidden." Karin's mouth fell open in surprise.

"You knew too!?" she said in shock, then started laughing. "Oh wow, those two really thought they were keeping it a secret. They're so naive. But I'm surprised Toushiro. I would have thought you wouldn't want anyone to know. That you'd be too embarrassed." Hitsugaya sighed.

"There are no secrets in Seireitei," he replied. "Especially with Matsumoto at the center of the rumor mill. Everyone will find out eventually, and it's much better to get the gossiping over and done with. If we pretend that nothing's happened, then the rumors just drag out forever." Karin chuckled. She knew it was true; Ichigo and Rukia were living proof of that.

"Karin-chan!" called an excited voice behind them, and Karin turned to see Matsumoto racing towards them, arms spread wide in anticipation of a bone crushing hug.

"Karin-chan, I'm so sorry…" Matsumoto began, but Karin shut her up by hugging her first, much to everyone's surprise.

"Thank you, Rangiku-san," she said gratefully. "Thank you for _slapping_ some sense back into me." Matsumoto looked momentarily stunned, then she hugged Karin back.

"You're welcome Karin-chan," she replied. "And thank you." They pulled back and beamed at each other.

"What was that all about?" asked a very confused Hitsugaya.

"Nothing you have to worry about," Karin said slyly, taking his hand and leading him away.

"I thought we weren't keeping secrets from each other!" he retorted. Karin chuckled. Matsumoto gaped at them for a moment, particularly their clasped hands, then smiled happily.

"So those two have finally figured themselves out," she said to herself. "Good for them."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day, Karin and Hitsugaya brought Masaki and Haruka to Seireitei for the long awaited family reunion. Karin felt guilty about keeping Masaki's whereabouts a secret from her family for a week, but Hitsugaya had assured her that they wouldn't care. Which Karin knew was definitely true.

The four of them stopped outside the 9th squad office.

"Ok, wait here for a minute Kasan," Karin said secretively. "Haruka, come with us." Karin had planned out the whole introduction, and she was nervous and excited about it.

Masaki waited in the hallway while Karin, Hitsugaya, and Haruka entered the office. Ichigo, Rukia, Isshin, Yuzu, and Hanataro were all there. Hanataro and Yuzu were playing shogi, Rukia was yelling at Ichigo about something, and Isshin was attempting futilely to stop the fight and give Yuzu rather unhelpful advice about her game at the same time.

"Karin," Ichigo scoffed, rather peeved. "Why the heck did we all have to be here at 12:00? And why my office?" Karin ignored him.

"Everyone," she said brightly, "I'd like you to meet Toushiro's sister, Haruka." All eyes turned towards Haruka. Ichigo's jaw dropped. Rukia slugged him in the stomach.

"Put your eyes back in your head!" she ordered. Yuzu giggled.

"Ignore him," Karin said to Haruka. "He's an idiot." Haruka smiled and the two girls shared a look of mutual understanding. Brothers could be such a pain sometimes.

Isshin bounded up to Haruka and held out his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you miss!" he said, attempting to be the gentleman he wasn't.

"Actually," Karin continued eagerly, "Haruka isn't just Toushiro's sister. She's also ours."

"What?!" Ichigo cried. "Don't tell me you two are getting married already?!" Rukia slugged him again. Karin simply grinned.

"No," she assured them all. "There's another reason. Kasan, you can come in now!" Karin called. Masaki entered the room. There was stunned silence for a moment, and then Masaki was being hugged by several people at once. There was shouting and tears and hollers of joy as Isshin, Yuzu, and Ichigo all tried to get as close to Masaki as possible. Karin, Haruka, and Rukia beamed at the sight, while Hitsugaya and Hanataro felt slightly out of place.

Eventually, the mad rush dissipated and the family broke apart.

"So what's the deal with Haruka?" Ichigo asked.

"She's my adopted daughter," Masaki explained. "So that makes her your sister."

"So Karin, does that mean you and Hitsugaya taicho are siblings?" Isshin asked, nudging Karin in the arm. Karin made a face and punched him in the nose.

"Definitely not!" she spat. "You're disgusting Oyaji!" Masaki giggled.

"I see you haven't changed at all," she said affectionately to Isshin. He scratched his head awkwardly.

"Aw, I was hoping you were going to say I had grown up a bit!" he said slightly disappointed, causing the whole room to laugh.

"Kasan!" Yuzu said gleefully, grabbing her hand. "There's someone I want you to meet!" She brought Masaki over to where Hanataro still sat, scared and uncomfortable.

"This is my boyfriend Hanataro!" Yuzu said merrily. Hanataro blushed, then bowed deeply.

"It's an honor to meet you, Kurosaki-san!" he said in a rush, and both Karin and Yuzu laughed at his classic formality.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Hanataro-kun!" Masaki said sweetly. She then turned to Ichigo.

"Ichigo, is this your girlfriend?" she asked innocently, indicating Rukia. Ichigo's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Rukia looked at him expectantly. The whole room fell silent, waiting for him to answer. Ichigo shifted awkwardly.

"Well," he began. "Rukia's my fukutaicho…" he started to trail off, then changed his mind and said with conviction, "and my girlfriend!" Everyone in the room started cheering and Rukia smiled broadly, flew into Ichigo's arms, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Finally," Karin and Hitsugaya said together.

**There you go, a little more IchiRuki for those of you who have been asking for it. Sorry they weren't so prominent in this story, but I couldn't really find a good place to sneak them in.**

**And no, it's not over yet…**


	14. First Kiss, Second Kiss

**You all have animegamemaster6 to thank for this chapter. It originally wasn't going to be in the story, but he asked me to add an Isshin/Masaki scene, and since he was this story's 100****th**** reviewer, I obliged. So the story doesn't end with this chapter, it will keep going.**

The family reunion lasted much longer than anyone expected it to. Hours later they were all still chatting away. So much had happened since Masaki had died that there was a lot to catch up on. And the rest of the Kurosakis were very eager to hear about Masaki's life in Rukongai.

"Wow, your lives all sound so exciting!" Masaki marveled. "But I'm glad you've made it through everything safely."

"What do you mean, safely?" Karin asked incredulously. "Ichi-nii killed us!" Everyone laughed.

"Yes, but it didn't turn out so bad, now did it?" Masaki asked, her eyes alight with laughter.

"Whatever," Karin said, grinning.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Ichigo called. "Honestly, who knocks on this office door anyway?"

"People who don't want to walk in on us," Rukia whispered slyly, but loud enough for the whole room to hear causing them all to laugh again and Ichigo to blush like mad.

The door slid open and Kira stepped in.

"Taicho," he said with relief. "So this is where you've been all day. I've been wondering what happened to you!"

"Oh, Izuru!" Isshin exclaimed. "Come join our little celebration! My wife has returned. Masaki, this is Kira Izuru, my fukutaicho!"

"It's an honor to meet you, Kurosaki-san," Kira said with a bow. Masaki giggled.

"Everyone here is so polite," she noted. It was then that Kira laid eyes on Haruka. His face flushed as he marveled at her unnatural beauty.

"And…and who might you be?" he asked breathlessly. Haruka giggled.

"She's my little sister," Hitsugaya said threateningly, as if daring Kira to even take a second look. Karin chuckled.

"You're too overprotective Toushiro," she said happily. He scowled.

"Hitsugaya taicho," Kira said, ignoring his tone. "Have you really been in here all day?" Hitsugaya's scowl deepened.

"I lost track of time," he mumbled angrily. "And I still have so much paperwork to do. I should get to the office."

"I'll come with you," Karin said standing up. "Everything will go faster that way." Hitsugaya was about to protest, to say that he didn't need her to help him with his work and that she should stay with her family, but Karin grabbed his hand, said a rushed good-bye to everyone, and dragged him out of the room.

"You know, Ichigo and I really should get back to our paperwork," Rukia said thoughtfully. Ichigo gave her a look of total and utter shock, but one glance from her and he understood.

"Yes, we really should," he agreed. Isshin burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright, we'll leave you two lovebirds alone," he said tactlessly. Ichigo blushed. Yuzu, Hanataro, Haruka, Masaki, and Kira followed Isshin outside. Yuzu gave her mother a big hug and said,

"It was wonderful to see you Kasan, but Hanataro-kun and I should get going too. I'll see you later ok!" And with that, she and Hanataro left in the direction of 4th squad.

Haruka looked at her mother and Isshin. It was clear to her that the two of them wanted to be alone.

"Kira-san," she said politely, "this is my first time in Seireitei. Would you mind showing me around?" She flashed him a smile that would turn any normal man into jelly. Kira was no exception.

"A…alright," he stuttered. Masaki watched them disappear and sighed happily.

"I guess all of our children have grown up now, haven't they?" she said wistfully.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call them grown up," Isshin replied. "They still look like children for the most part. But, well, looks don't really matter here do they? Karin and Yuzu are practically adults now and Ichigo, well, he's still a fool." Masaki laughed.

"So, will you show me your squad?" she asked. "I'd love to see where the big man works now."

"Ah, that's me, Mr. Taicho!" he said exuberantly. "Come on, 3rd squad's this way!" Masaki wound her arm around his and Isshin suddenly found himself red and flustered.

"What's wrong?" Masaki teased. "You're more like our children than you think. I'm still your wife, aren't I?"

"Ah, yeah, of course, it's just…" Isshin stuttered. "It's just been so long. It kinda feels like we're starting all over again, you know?" Masaki smiled and leaned against Isshin's shoulder.

"Yeah, it does," she agreed. Isshin squeezed her arm. The couple walked in silence for a while. When they reached 3rd squad, Isshin showed her the office, the dojo, the grounds, and finally, the barracks.

"And here's my room!" he said with flourish. "Taicho's quarters, the best place to live in all of Soul Society!" It was true. Isshin had two rooms all to himself, a private bathroom, and an enormous bay window. All other shinigami had to share a bathroom, and only the fukutaichos had a room to themselves. And no one else had such an impressive window. Masaki admired the room and the view, which looked out over Seireitei's maze.

"You know," Isshin said nervously, "I hear your house in Rukongai is really beautiful and all, but I was wondering if maybe…you know…if you and Haruka wanted a new place to live…" Masaki giggled.

"Are you asking me to move in with you, Kurosaki-san?" she said with mock surprise. "How bold! I don't know if it's proper for a young lady of my age to move in with such a powerful man. What kind of example would that set for Haruka? Or Karin and Yuzu?" Isshin smiled.

"You haven't changed, have you Masaki?" She grinned.

"But," she said seriously, "is it alright? I mean, Haruka and I aren't shinigami. I don't have the reiatsu to become one, and Haruka is dead set against the idea. She hates fighting. Are we allowed to live here?"

"What are you talking about?" Isshin said with a laugh. "You've got three taichos on your side. Ichigo, Hitsugaya taicho, and I are more than enough of a force to get permission. Besides, you won't be the first family members of shinigami to move to Seireitei. So what do you say Masaki, will you be wife?"

"Are you proposing?" she asked slyly.

"Maybe I am," Isshin chuckled. "Maybe I am." And with that, he swept her into his arms, dipped her low, and kissed the woman he loved more than any other for the first time in fourteen years.

oooooooooooooooooooo

"And this is our dojo," Kira said awkwardly. He couldn't believe his good fortune. He had the undivided attention of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. The fact that she was Hitsugaya's sister didn't bother him in the least. He was much more concerned that he had no idea what would interest her.

"Neh, Kira-san," Haruka said merrily.

"Call me Izuru, please," he said. Haruka giggled.

"Ok, Izuru. Tell me, what do you all do for fun around here? Onii-chan says he does a lot of paperwork, but he's boring, always has been."

"Um, well, I usually drink sake with Matsumoto-san…"

"Kira!" exclaimed a voice behind them, causing Kira to jump about a foot in the air. "Don't tell me you're trying to convince taicho's sister to come drink with us?!"

"No, Matsumoto-san, it's not like that," he defended, but Matsumoto beamed at him.

"I think it's a wonderful idea!" she said brightly. "Are you up for it Haruka-chan?"

"You bet!" Haruka said with a grin, and before Kira could protest, Matsumoto had wrapped her arm around Haruka's shoulder and started to lead her away. Haruka looked back over her shoulder at Kira.

"Izuru," she called playfully to him. "Are you coming?" Kira checked at the seductive gleam in her eye, then trailed along behind the two women like a rather sick puppy.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Yuzu chatted animatedly about her mother as she and Hanataro headed back to 4th squad.

"It's so wonderful to have the family together again!" she gushed. Hanataro smiled.

"I'm happy for you, Yuzu-san," he said. "It must be so nice to have so many people who care about you."

"Hanataro-kun, are you alright?" Yuzu asked with concern.

"Of course I am!" he said, smiling weakly, but Yuzu could see right through him.

"Hanataro-kun," she said gently, "there are plenty of people that care about you. I'm one of them." She took his hand, causing him to blush furiously.

"Don't ever think that you're unloved, ok!" she said with a bright smile. Hanataro's face softened.

"I don't really feel that way, Yuzu-san, honestly," he said softly. Yuzu giggled.

"Neh, Hanataro-kun," she began. "Do you think we should go on a date?" Hanatro stopped walking.

"D…d…d…date!" he stuttered hopelessly. "Wh…what do you mean?" Yuzu sighed happily.

"You know, we're technically a couple now, but nothing has really changed in our relationship. It's like we're still just friends. We should at least go on a date or…or kiss or something…" Now it was Yuzu's turn to blush. Hanataro gulped. Sure he liked Yuzu. He liked her a lot. But the thought of kissing a girl! He didn't think he had the strength to do that.

"Do…do you want to k...k…kiss?" he asked carefully, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. Yuzu, suddenly shy, could only nod. Hanataro gulped again. He could feel his heart pounding heavily in his chest. He closed his eyes and puckered his lips.

Yuzu did her best not to laugh as she looked at Hanataro, standing there with his lips poking out nervously and expectantly. She smiled at how cute she found her boyfriend, then leaned in and kissed him. Hanataro couldn't remember his face ever feeling so hot. He pulled back long before either of them were quite ready.

"Ano," he said, face still on fire, "maybe we should try a d...date first. Before we kiss again." Yuzu couldn't hold back her giggle this time. She planted a kiss on Hanataro's burning cheek.

"Alright," she agreed. "It's a date then."

ooooooooooooooooooooo

"So Rukia," Ichigo said once they were alone. "I assume you didn't have paperwork in mind for this evening." Rukia grinned slyly.

"You're right, I didn't." She came up to him, wrapped her arms lovingly around his neck, and kneed him in the crotch.

"Damn it!" Ichigo swore, collapsing on the floor and howling in pain. "What the hell was that for!?" Rukia smirked.

"Just so you don't get your hopes up too high," she replied satisfactorily. "We're official now right? You told your mother. Therefore, we're not spending the evening hulled up in your room. We're going out. Where everyone can see us. I want you to prove to me that the secret's really out. Understood?"

"Alright, alright," Ichigo agreed from his fetal position on the floor. Not that he really had much choice in the matter.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Hitsugaya sighed deeply as he gazed at the stacks of untouched paperwork on his desk.

"I can't believe none of this got done today," he said in a defeated voice.

"Neh, Toushiro," Karin said. "You aren't really going to spend all night doing this are you?"

"I thought you said you'd help," Hitsugaya replied.

"No," Karin reminded him, "I said I'd come with you. There's a big difference."

"But," Hitsugaya protested, "you said it'd be faster if you came."

"Yes," Karin said slyly, walking slowly towards him. "I knew if I didn't come, I'd never get you out of here." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and brought her face to his so that their noses were touching. "You don't really feel like doing paperwork right now, do you?" Hitsugaya smirked.

"I guess you're right," he said amused. "For some reason, paperwork just isn't that appealing at the moment." Hitsugaya turned his head, capturing her lips. She pressed herself closer to him, causing him to move backwards until they were up against his desk. She leaned forward, pushing him onto it, knocking down several stacks of paperwork in the process. But, contrary to the last time she did that, Hitsugaya found that he really didn't mind so much.


	15. The Second Hitsugaya

**Last chapter!!**

**Animalgun: I **_**love**_** your idea, so I will write it soon, but top priority right now is the sequel for this story. Maybe I'll do two fics at once, never done that. Hmmm…**

A year later, Ichigo and Isshin left a captain's meeting having a heated argument.

"I want to tell her!" Isshin whined. "She's my daughter!"

"She'll never believe you!" Ichigo retorted. "I'm going to tell her…!" but he was cut off by a punch to the face.

"You'll never get there first if I beat the crap out of you!" Isshin said triumphantly. But he was soon knocked to the ground by Ichigo, who jumped on top of him, punching wildly. Hitsugaya, who had exited the meeting just behind them, rolled his eyes then left to find Karin.

Karin and Haruka were in their room in 4th squad, making onigiri with Masaki. Haruka had lived in Karin and Yuzu's room ever since she and Masaki had moved to Seireitei a year ago. Masaki of course, was living with Isshin in 3rd squad and Haruka felt that she should give the couple their space. Hitsugaya had offered to let her stay in 10th squad, but in the end she had taken Karin's offer and moved in with her sisters. Karin and Yuzu really did feel like they had a third sister. Haruka was the perfect blend of sweet and sharp to complement both Kurosaki girls, so she fit right in. And Haruka loved the feeling of being part of such a large and active family. Everyone was satisfied with the situation.

But at the moment, Karin was not particularly satisfied with her situation. She looked down at her hands, which were covered in fish and rice, and shuttered with disgust.

"Why do I have to do this?" she asked for what felt like the hundredth time. "I hate cooking! How did you rope me into this again?"

"Because Yuzu's still on her date with Hanataro and we can't make enough for everyone by ourselves," Haruka replied. "You know how much the men eat. Plus, it's fun."

"Not for me," Karin groaned. "Besides, I suck at this." It was true. Her onigiri looked more like squashed bugs than the perfect triangles Masaki and Haruka were creating.

"But Karin," Haruka cooed, "don't you want Onii-chan to see what a good cook you are?" Karin laughed.

"My cooking skills are nothing to brag about. And anyway, I don't need to impress him. He'll take me as I am and be damn grateful for it. Just because you seem to feel the need to attract every guy in Seireitei doesn't mean I do."

"That's mean Karin," Haruka pouted. "I don't need to attract every guy in Seireitei."

"Oh?" Karin said sarcastically. "How many guys have you dated this month?" Haruka thought about it for a second.

"Five. Because that guy from 8th squad doesn't count, it wasn't really a date." Karin shook her head.

"I don't know what you consider a 'date' Haruka, but buying you flowers and taking you out for a fancy dinner sure qualifies as a date to me."

"Yes, but he didn't even try to kiss me!" Haruka protested. "He was such a wimp." Karin chuckled.

"Don't let Toushiro hear you say things like that. All of Soul Society would be frozen over in a second if he actually knew how many guys you've kissed. That's why you're off limits in 10th squad." Haruka sighed.

"Yes, and I really wish Onii-chan would lighten up and lift that ban. There are so many cute guys in that squad. Onii-chan shouldn't have so much control over who I date."

"It's not a ban," Karin said. "More like a death threat. And since when did Toushiro have control over anything you did?" Haruka giggled.

"Never," she replied.

"So Haruka," Masaki chimed in. "Have you decided what you're wearing to Ichigo and Rukia's wedding?" Haruka's face lit up.

"Yuzu and I bought this gorgeous green kimono for me! It's the same color as my eyes."

"Sounds lovely!" Masaki replied.

"First cooking now clothes!" Karin moaned. "What's next, flower arranging?"

"Well, now that you mention it…" Haruka began thoughtfully.

"Shut up!" said Karin, and all three of them started laughing.

"This looks like fun," Hitsugaya said sarcastically, leaning on the doorframe. Karin's face lit up when she saw him.

"Onii-chan!" Haruka said joyfully. "Want to join us?"

"No thank you," he said with conviction. "Karin, can I borrow you for a minute?"

"Of course!" Karin said, very grateful for the excuse to stop cooking. She washed the sticky rice and fish guts off her hands and followed him outside.

"Gross, I reek of fish!" Karin complained, sniffing her fingers. "That smell's going to last for a week! I can't believe they convinced me to help them."

"Just don't touch me," Hitsugaya teased. "I don't want to smell like fish any more than you do." Karin grinned.

"So anyway, did you want to talk to me about something?" she asked.

"Actually," he said airily, "I thought you might be interested in hearing about a proposal that came up in the captain's meeting today. As you know, 5th squad still doesn't have a taicho, and Yamamoto soutaicho suggested that since we already have two Kurosakis, why not just round it out and add another." Karin stopped walking and gaped at him.

"You don't mean me, do you!?" she asked, completely floored. Hitsugaya shrugged.

"Well, just so you know, I'm against the idea. I think two Kurosakis are quite enough. Soul Society can't handle a third. However," he continued, highly amused by the look of confusion and fury on Karin's face, "10th squad is one of the most stable squads in the Gotei 13. I wouldn't be at all opposed to adding another Hitsugaya to the ranks." Karin stared at him. She blinked several times, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying.

"Toushiro," she said slowly, not fully believing it to be true. "Are you asking me to marry you?" Hitsugaya smiled. His genuine smiles were still few and far between, but they were becoming much more common. This one however, was definitely genuine.

Karin didn't think she could possibly be any happier than she was at that moment. She was engaged _and_ she was going to be a taicho! And to top it all off, she was no longer in 4th squad! She threw herself at Hitsugaya, forcing him up against the wall behind him as she kissed him with all the passion and excitement she could muster. He responded in kind, trailing his hands up and down her back as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Eventually they broke apart and Karin beamed at him. She leaned forward and brought her lips to his ear.

"By the way," she whispered seductively, smirking as she felt his body stiffen with anticipation. "Now your hair smells like fish!"

**The End!**

**I'm sad to see this story end, but I'm excited for the next one. For those of you who stuck with me, thank you. And for those of you who contributed to this story, doubly thank you. There wouldn't have been a story without you all!**

**Just so you all don't go anywhere, here's a sneak preview of the sequel, which is entitled "A Midsummer's Nightmare" (yes, the Shakespeare reference gives a hint about what it's about, but trust me, it's not entirely what you think-grins evilly). It should be up in a few days, this weekend is pretty hectic for me.**

Hitsugaya Toushiro had four very important women in his life. The first was his fukutaicho, Matsumoto. The second was his fiancé, Kurosaki Karin. The third was his sister, Haruka. And the fourth was his best friend, Hinamori. Now, most men would trade their right kidney to be in Hitsugaya's shoes, but unfortunately, Hitsugaya was not one who had an easy time dealing with the opposite sex. And with so many strong-minded women pulling him in all directions, he rather envied those men who spent their days looking for people to give their kidneys to. Especially, when the women in question began to butt heads.

It all started with a rose. Well, actually, it started long before that, but the rose was the trigger that set the events in motion. More specifically, the rose aroused one Hinamori Momo to act on feelings and desires that had been in place for quite some time, but that she had been too shy and unconfident to do anything about. But with time running out, Hinamori decided that it was time for action.

**I hope that has you all wanting more! Come back and read it, I think it'll be a really fun story!**

**And for those of you still waiting for a proper sequel to "I Remember This One Time," (I mean, something more expansive than "The Girl Next Door"), I want to write one but am having a little writer's block about a good solid plot. I've got some ideas, but if anyone has suggestions of things they'd like to see (in that sequel or this one) please let me know. Thanks a ton!**


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